Musician calls attention to year-long wait for mental health help in Cape Breton

A Cape Breton man has been overwhelmed by the response to a song he composed to draw attention to the nearly year-long waitfor mental health support in the area.

"I really wanted to bring attention to the crisis that we have here," said Rob Murphy, a part-time musician whose song 300Days has been viewed more than 35,000 times sincebeing posted Monday on his Facebookpage.

Currently, the wait period to see a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker in theCape Breton Regional Municipalityis 325 days. Murphy said he was moved to write his song after seeingthatnumberonline.

"It totally blew my mind," he said. "It's unnecessary, it's unfortunateand it needs to be fixed."

• Nova Scotia mental health wait times

The wait time in the municipality has more than doubled over the past six months, saidDr. JulieMacDonald, director of mental health and addiction services for the eastern zone of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

She said the cause is a shortage of psychiatrists and other clinical staff, coupled with an increase in demand.

"As the stigma [is reduced], people are becoming more aware of mental health and addiction, more people are reaching out to us for help," said MacDonald.

Musician sought help

Murphy had his own reasons to reach out for help afterhe lost his house in a fire several years ago.

"I kind of went into a little bit of shock," he said. "All of sudden I was getting anxiety and I was going through this change in my life. And I couldn't handle it."

Within 24 hours he was able to talk with a social worker through an employee assistance program offered by his employer at the time. Murphy said it helped him cope and understand his emotions were normal.

Song sparks response

Murphy's song tells the fictional story of a woman who seeks help for her mental health crisis, but takes her own life after waiting 300 days without seeing a mental health professional.

"When I took her to the hospital, they said they had no beds, turned her away, voices screaming in her head," the raspy-voiced musician sings.

Murphy said he's received hundreds of messages from people sharing their own stories.

"I've had several people who have messaged me who had friends or families or loved ones that tried to make it to over 300 days and they didn't. They lost these people."

Health authority recruiting

Asked what effect the current wait time is having on health outcomes and deaths,MacDonaldresponded that it's hard to say.

She said the health authority isworking to fill six psychiatrist vacancies and other clinical staff.

One challenge, she said, is the municipality doesn't have a local training program for mental health workers. MacDonald couldn't say when she expects the wait time to be reduced.