Just-released data reveals cost of delays in mental health care for Canadian kids – CTV News
Dec. 14, 2023
According to a new report, long delays in getting children and youth the mental health care they need costs Canada $4 billion every year — and that’s a conservative estimate, the authors say.
Researchers behind the new report, called “Nurturing Minds for Secure Futures,” wanted to model the actual toll on the health-care system(opens in a new tab) should youth continue to face high rates of anxiety and depression without improvements to the system.
They found that delaying treatment of mental health isn’t just detrimental to the patient — it can be pricey for the health-care system as whole.
“This report serves as a clarion call for action on behalf of Canada’s children and youth,” Emily Gruenwoldt, president and CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada, said in a press release. “We have the opportunity to rewrite the future. If we act promptly to invest in and right-size health systems serving children, we not only improve their physical and mental health outcomes, we also save health systems and families billions of dollars.”
