January, 28th, 2014 Office of the Premier via email Madame Premier: TEMA Conter, out of Ontario, posted this today via Facebook: Were grateful that everyone is talking about mental health. But now its time for real change and for real leadership. Were calling for all provincial health care plans to cover the costs of psychological services. Why should mental illness and psychological trauma be treated any different than a physical illness or trauma? In my personal case, having not been granted Workers Compensation Benefits due to legislative issues, access to the kind of support and treatment required to advance healing for my Post Traumatic Stress Injury, suffered as a consequence of my employment as a rural Paramedic, is STILL extremely difficult. We need these services and modalities for treatment, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Repossessing covered under our medical services plans to ensure healing and opportunity for those injured psychologically, occupationally or otherwise, to find treatment that is timely; culturally competent; and available in our home communities. We need our health coverage, here in BC, to cover psychological services, because this is where such treatments can be found: in clinical psychologists offices. Ive fought, desperately, to find healing, through 20 years of misinformation about PTSD: and for the past eight years, though appropriate treatments are now available, financial issues impose much hardship in accessing competent treatment modalities. Only recently, through WorkBC, was I able to succeed in acquisition of funding for vocational development. Only with the help of Kootenay Employment Services in Creston, was I able to find funding to pay for a minimal course of EMDR treatment: which, I must add, has proven DRAMATIC in terms of healing. A move to include psychological services in medical plans will save lives to suicide. The pressures of financial issues, only serves to maintain psychological illness. We need to talk about these issues, again, Government and I. We have the outstanding issue, still, of the Workers Compensation Act; which, as it stands, creates Secondary psychological wounding for workers in this Province. We have, also, the issue of psychological care, not adequately available due to financial issues for patients; and due to unavailable coverage through our medical services plan. My public, volunteer effort to share information with others about Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSD) remains open on Facebook for your review: https://facebook/posttraumasupportbc We have the issue of inadequate recognition of psychological ill-health; and a very weak understanding, in Government policy of mental health dynamics; and of the high impact psychological illness actually imposes upon our physical wellbeing. Please, as you ponder new Workers Compensation legislation: to include measures that place psychological care of our injured Emergency Services workers under a category which recognizes psychological injury as presumptive. All citizens need psychological care provided to us, under the our Provincial Health Plan. Thank you for your continued, compassionate review of these issues. The world is changing all around us, with respect to mental health understanding and treatment development. Dont you think we should take this opportunity to work, all of us, together: and catch up with the advancing understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Injury and other mental health consequences of living? Respectfully, Darren Gregory 5474, Cory Road Wynndel, BC V0B2N1 250-866-5204
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 23:11:43 +0000
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