On December 4, 2024, more than 50 clinical and administrative leaders from across Ontario participated in an interactive event to reflect on the future of Seniors’ Mental Health (SMH) services and the need for a SMH infrastructure to address the increasing demand from growing numbers of impacted older adults.
Dr. Kelly Kay, Executive Director, highlighted the many older adults experiencing mental health and addictions challenges as a call for action. Citing recent data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Kay noted that across Ontario, more than 710,000 older adults live with an anxiety disorder, including 200,000 also living with dementia or frailty. A further 187,00 older adults experience a mood disorder, including 80,000 also experiencing dementia or frailty. In addition, more than 100,000 older adults live with substance use disorders and 27,000 experience schizophrenia or psychotic disorders. Kay referenced the work of the Geriatric and Long-Term Care Death Review Committee (Provincial Coroner’s Office), who reported that “the elderly, as a population, present challenges in the management of complex medical and psychiatric conditions; they are best served by a multidisciplinary team of providers with specialized skills. This starts at the level of training and finishes with oversight and effective quality review” (GLTCRC, 2022, Chapter 4).
Participants also heard from policy and practice experts and engaged in table discussions focused on key topics such as the growing demand for seniors’ mental health services in primary care and long term care, strategies for serving complex patients and care partners, and measurement and evaluation across programs and services supporting older adults living with mental health and addictions challenges.
The day also highlighted the important contributions of existing programs and organizations such as the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health, the Canadian Mental Health Association (Ontario), the Behavioural Supports Ontario program, the Provincial System Support Program of the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Dr. Marie-France Tourigny-Rivard, a distinguished Geriatric Psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa, in her remarks, encouraged participants to continue working together, to share struggles, successes, data, educational and human resources. She also called on leaders to appreciate and acknowledge what each partner organization is contributing and to work with local, provincial and national organizations to link clinical experience to decision-makers to inform future solutions.
Dr. Mark Lachman, Geriatric Psychiatrist and co-medical director of PGLO, in his closing remarks, reflected on the urgency of engagement with the policy environment and acknowledged that while “building networks and coalitions can be messy”, the increasing numbers of older adults aging alone and in poverty signalled a need for PGLO and partners to coordinate their efforts.
A report on the event proceedings is in development. Presentations and speaker’s biographies from the event can be found below.
Event presentations and speaker bios – click the titles below to expand.