Jan. 25 is Let’s Talk Day as we look to raise money for mental health initiatives.
So let’s talk.
Mental health is becoming a bigger and bigger concern across Canada.
Not that it was not a concern before but we are more conscious of it now than we have been in the past but we are still not doing enough, especially in Saskatchewan.
In 2015 the national average for mental health spending in Canada was seven per cent of provincial health care budgets but in Saskatchewan we were only spending five per cent of the health care budget on mental health, according to a report published by the Canadian Mental Health Association.
That two per cent does not seem like a lot but when Saskatchewan’s health budget is $5.4 billion, we are being left $108 million short of the national average.
The CMHA says that to start really making a difference for those people who are suffering from mental health issues we need to be spending nine per cent of the health budget on mental health.
On a per capita basis the CMHA says that the province is spending $4,585 for all health services but just $116 for mental health services, that is a drastic drop.
According to the same report the economic cost of mental health illnesses in Canada is $50 billion, with an additional $6 billion in lost productivity.
That seems like a steep price tag given that we would only be spending $108 million more instead of approximately $1.5 billion in additional costs and $180 million in lost productivity.
We talk all the time about how the kids are the future yet suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst people 15 to 24.
Canada is among the world leaders in suicide rates in the industrialized world, with Saskatchewan sitting above the national average.
Should we not be trying to further support these people instead of leaving them to try to deal with their illnesses on their own?
We are already in a situation where we have a lack of support for health care in this country as it is.
I get it.
But we should be looking at ways to improve mental health care, while simultaneously improving our overall health care.
There are 6.7 million people in Canada living with a mental health illness, with approximately 200,000 of those living in Saskatchewan.
That is three time more than the number of people living with diabetes and almost five times more than those living with heart disease.
It is time we do something.
And Jan. 25 is a good time to start.
