Manitoba Health

Annual Report 2007/2008

The Selkirk Mental Health Centre (SMHC) is a provincial mental health facility mandated to provide long term mental health inpatient treatment and rehabilitation services to all residents of Manitoba whose challenging treatment and rehabilitation needs cannot be met elsewhere in the health care system.

The SMHC has a formal agreement with the government of Nunavut to provide inpatient services to residents of Nunavut experiencing acute mental illness.

Patient services are available at SMHC in four specialized inpatient treatment programs:

1. Short Term Treatment and Rehabilitation Program (43 beds).
2. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program (86 beds and eight community residence beds).
3. Extended Treatment and Rehabilitation Program (105 beds).
4. Forensic Rehabilitation Program (18 beds).

Treatment and rehabilitation services in all programs are provided by multi-discipline teams consisting of psychiatrists, general practitioners, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, activity instructors, nurses registered with their appropriate College, psychiatric nursing assistants, recreational therapists, pharmacists, the Chaplain, the Dietitian, the Aboriginal Elder and Aboriginal Friendship Workers.  The SMHC receives support through volunteers assigned to specific patient program areas and needs.

The objectives were:

The patients served by the Selkirk Mental Health Centre are those with challenging treatment and rehabilitation needs that cannot be met elsewhere in the health care system.  As such, the objectives are:

• To deliver quality, compassionate, respectful, and cost-effective in-patient mental health services with a patient-centred approach.
• To promote recovery through clinical excellence, cultural competence, community partnerships, and family involvement.

The expected and actual results for 2007/08 included:

1. Patient-focused treatment that supports the goal of returning the patient back to a community setting.
   
   Over the fiscal year, 170 patients were returned successfully back to a community setting. Of those patients, 131 were from the Short-Term Treatment & Rehabilitation Program, 26 from the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program, 10 from the Extended Treatment & Rehabilitation Program and 3 from the Forensic Rehabilitation Program.
   
   
2. Patients and families encouraged to influence the direction of care being provided.
   
   Patients in each of the three patient-care buildings meet monthly as a Patient Assembly to ask questions, express concerns and offer suggestions to Program staff representatives. Similarly, patients from all three patient-care buildings meet monthly as a Consumer Advisory Committee to offer advice to the Chief Executive Officer and other senior managers.
   
   Patients and families have an opportunity to register complaints, make suggestions, ask questions and offer commendations via 19 Suggestion Boxes placed around the facility. Anonymous contributions are accepted. On a monthly basis written responses fro managers are provided through a Suggestion Tracker document which is posted on all bulletin boards.
   
   Family members are encouraged to be involved in patient-care planning through case-conference meetings and other communication with Program staff members.
   
   A Family Advisory Committee meets quarterly with the Chief Executive Officer to provide advice on the overall operation and future direction of the facility.  
   
   
3. Employees who are competent and able to provide patient care in accordance with standards and best practices.
   
   The Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) undertook an on-site review of SMHC’s performance as measured against national standards in September 2005. As a result of that review, SMHC was asked in November 2005 to demonstrate measurable progress in addressing a small number of specific concerns within the following 12 months. In December 2005 the CCHSA commended SMHC for addressing the identified concerns and conferred full accreditation status through to September 2008. In October 2007, CCHSA granted SMHC’s request to postpone the next accreditation survey to September 2009 to allow completion of Phase 1 of Redevelopment at the Centre. SMHC will retain its full accreditation status through to September 2009.
   
   SMHC recruits and seeks to retain the most qualified and experienced people available to serve the Centre’s patient population. SMHC works collaboratively with professional licensing bodies to ensure that its employees are meeting or exceeding professional standards within their respective disciplines.
   
   SMHC offers a comprehensive Training & Development (T&D) Service to ensure that employees of the Centre have the opportunity to stay current in their knowledge and skills. The priority T&D initiatives in 2007-08 were in the areas of Redevelopment-related skills and knowledge training in Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Geriatric Mental Health and Acquired Brain Injury fields of practice. Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, Suicide Prevention and Leadership Training/Mentoring were ongoing initiatives from the previous fiscal year.   
   
   
4. Effective management of resources to enable and support the delivery of quality patient care.
   
   SMHC is a careful steward of its human and financial resources in support of quality patient care.
   
   The Centre has been allocated 411 staff years to deliver its programs and services but employs 530 persons when full-time, part-time and casual personnel are counted. Those employees are supported by clear and effective leadership at all levels of the organization. Training & Development initiatives are offered to enhance their knowledge and skills and Workplace Safety & Health initiatives to keep them safe and well.
   
   The Centre manages its budget of $29.358M through a Cost Centre Management process which ensures effective, efficient and accountable financial stewardship.