Labrador West needs more psychiatry care, says former doctor

A former Labrador psychiatrist says he raised alarm bells about the risk of suicides in Labrador West in 2014, and claims the incidents this year could have been avoided.

The five suicides in the region in the past eight months were an avoidable tragedy, according to Dr. Minal Mistry, who worked as a psychiatrist inHappy Valley-Goose Bay until 2015. He says he argued for better services in the region, but his pleas went ignored.

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"I did predict this," Mistry told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning."My prediction unfortunately came true."

"I think if management had listened to me in the first placeand taken on some of my ideas, which they were refusing to take on at all, then I think a lot of these suicides could have been prevented."

Mistry says he argued the region had a high risk of suicide, pointing factors out factors such as the employment problems that were looming on the horizon in 2014.

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He says the administration of Labrador-Grenfell Health should have changed the way they were delivering mental health services. He says there should have been more input from psychiatric specialists over mental health counsellors.

But he says when he raised these concerns to regional directors and vice-presidents they weren't taken to heart.

"Unfortunately, the management at Labrador-Grenfell Health and particularly in Labrador West were not listening to me and did not appreciate my input," he said.

More psychiatrists needed

Labrador-GrenfellHealth should move quickly to hire more permanent psychiatrists in Labrador, according to Mistry, who says his job has gone unfilled since he quit the post in 2015.

He says the connection of a permanent psychiatrist, instead of a visiting resource, makes a big difference to the patient.

"Thatloses continuity of care, which I provided," he says.

"Psychiatry is all about that relationship, about the relationship between the care provider and the patient. And if you lose that relationship, then you lose a crucial aspect."

Minstry was based in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, but made regular trips to other hospitals in the region.

He says the poor reaction to his complaints and concerns was part of the reason he left his job in 2015.

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Still, he says he's still willing to meet with Labrador-Grenfell Health officials to provide advice.