A staff shortage is forcing the ArrimAge mental health center to close its offices on Fridays for an indefinite period. Apart from the day center service which will reopen a little later, all other services for all practical purposes remain available to customers.
Cases of anxiety-related disorders have been on the rise since the pandemic has taken hold in people’s daily lives. The Center de santé l’ArrimAge is able to measure the extent of the phenomenon by regularly supporting people with mental health problems.
“Since the pandemic, it has only gotten worse. Cases of anxiety are common and the majority of mental health problems. Everyone is affected, to varying degrees, by the pandemic. We support more anxious people,” says Josée Dion, director general of ArrimAge.
The number of interventions is constantly growing. Thus, over the past year, the organization carried out no less than 926 receptions and totaled 1,744 individual meetings and 1,160 telephone calls. In 2020, there were 589 receptions, 1,587 individual meetings and 675 telephone support.
Recruitment more difficult
Recruitment has been more difficult in recent months. For director Josée Dion, ideally, her organization would need a staff of about fifteen people to respond more quickly to demand. For this, its funding would also have to be increased.
Recruiting staff has never been a problem for the organization, until the pandemic hit and especially in the last year.
“Even if we make every effort to improve working and salary conditions, we cannot compete with the advantages offered in the public health sector. We depend a lot on government subsidies,” explains ArrimAge’s executive director, Josée Dion.
In the past year, two staff members have left.
“We respond to all requests and take care of the people who call on our professional services. The most urgent cases are treated as a priority or referred according to more specific needs,” reassures Josée Dion.
This is also the first time that the ArrimAge Mental Health Center has had to deal with a waiting list, which can vary from two to three months.
“In order not to lengthen this list too much, we favor group meetings rather than individual meetings, when appropriate”.
Until further notice, the ArrimAge offices are open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“There are no breaks in service, it’s just that we are open fewer hours per week. We want to return to five-day opening hours as quickly as possible,” concludes Josée Dion.
–
