The Mental Health Program and Services Group is responsible for facilitating and supporting systems change required for the implementation of mental health reform, as well as funding, policy development and operational monitoring of mental health services, including the 4 provincial psychiatric hospitals, 5 specialty hospitals, 53 general hospital psychiatric units, approximately 359 community mental health programs and 148 homes for special care.

The group supports mental health programs and services in achieving the principles of mental health reform, which shifts the focus from institutional to community-based care; improves access to quality care in mental health services, supports where the first priority population is the severely mentally ill, and the consumer/survivor is the centre of the delivery system. The reformed mental health system will provide a comprehensive system of key services and make more effective use of resources.

You may receive mental health services from :

• psychiatric hospitals
• specialty hospitals
• general hospital psychiatric units
• community mental health programs
• homes for people discharged from psychiatric hospitals
• self­help groups run by consumer/survivors
• psychiatrists and family physicians.