Evidence of meeting #13 for National Defence in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was navy.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Robert Bouchard Bloc Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
He has a sore knee and is currently walking with crutches, but I thought he would be here this afternoon. I think everything is going to be fine, though.
Conservative
Bloc
Robert Bouchard Bloc Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Yes, he is pretty tough, so I think everything will be fine.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you all for being with us today.
I would like to come back to Mr. Coderre's question about the study. I saw a study dealing with military personnel who consult experts on mental health and post-traumatic stress syndrome. According to that information, military personnel who consult such specialists are not well thought of. Few soldiers actually use those professional consulting services. Some even say that it could affect their career. I would like to know if you share that opinion or if you have heard that there is an issue as regards military personnel avoiding seeking help from a mental health professional.
Col A.G. Darch
The problem of stigma regarding mental health illness is a common one, I believe, in our Canadian society, and it's the same in the military.
We've done a lot to try to destigmatize mental illness and to create an awareness of it. Some of the things we've done include a series of intentionally overlapping strategies to help people understand mental illness and to help people who have mental illness come forward for assistance. We've worked both on reaching out to them and on providing opportunities for them to seek help themselves.
In general terms, delaying seeking help for mental illness appears to be common in Canada as a whole. To help encourage people to seek help, we deploy teams of mental health care providers to theatre. They're accessible there--a psychiatrist, a social worker, and a mental health nurse.
When people are returning from a mission, they are educated on operational stress injuries. On career courses for officers and non-commissioned officers, we provide education with respect to operational stress injuries and mental health. We also have the post-deployment screening, during which a person fills out a questionnaire that includes questions for OSIs and PTSD. They also have a one-on-one interview with the mental health care professional at that time. That gives them an opportunity to bring up any issues they have without having to travel to a place themselves to take that initiative. The initiative is brought to them by us.
Further, we have the member assistance program, whereby they can confidentially access help outside of the military. They can get up to 10 sessions of counselling done by civilians outside the military, so it's confidential. Further, the operational stress injury social support network is available, and finally, as well, on their biennial medical exams there are questions and things that are done to look at their mental health.
Cdr R.P. Briggs
May I answer, sir?
The troops, upon redeployment—and granted, we're talking about the folks who deploy to overseas, to Afghanistan—have a third-location decompression; it is currently in Cyprus, and I believe it lasts from three to five days. At that point, mental health care professionals are made available. There are a variety of educational programs and other programs. It's really been aimed at demystifying mental health and breaking down those barriers in order to normalize a lot of these issues these folks may be experiencing, and by all accounts it's being very well received by the troops.
Bloc
Robert Bouchard Bloc Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Thank you. We have also been told that, since the Afghanistan mission began, 17 per cent of soldiers are being treated for mental health issues and that, in the last contingent from Valcartier, the percentage was higher.
Have you noted a trend in terms of a higher incidence of mental health issues in the Canadian Forces?
Col A.G. Darch
Generally, sir, I think we have seen an improvement in terms of people coming forward to seek help for mental health problems.
Specifically, with respect to the deployment coming back to Valcartier, it is way too early to have all the information on that. We won't have that for at least six to maybe nine months after they've returned, so that we have the opportunity to do the post-deployment screening at that point.
Cdr R.P. Briggs
When you hear figures like that, it's difficult, sir, to determine whether the actual number of cases has increased or the willingness of the folks to come forward has increased. That is, is the stigma being broken down so that people feel more comfortable coming forward, or is it actually a true increase in operational stress injuries?
Again, I believe the 17% figure was based on one rotation, Roto 1 of OP ATHENA. I don't think we have any more up-to-date statistics than that. On the folks from Valcartier in Roto 4, which is currently about to repatriate, I believe, as Colonel Darch said, we don't have all the statistics. Hopefully that will be forthcoming.
Bloc
Robert Bouchard Bloc Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
I see.
Are you able to confirm that you have enough mental health professionals at your disposal to meet the needs of members?
Col A.G. Darch
Yes, sir. In and around 2003-04, we had 229 mental health care professionals in the military. That included military and civilian psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses, and addiction specialists.
With the approval of the mental health initiative, we have increased that to 321 providers now, and we are working towards bringing that up to 447 mental health care professionals in 2009.
Along with that, from 2004 to 2009 we are investing $98 million into mental health in the Canadian Forces, which is quite a substantial amount. To put it into perspective, if you look at the number of mental health care professionals right now, we have one mental health care professional for every 202 members in the Canadian Forces. In 2009, at 447 mental health care professionals, we will have one mental health care professional for every 145 members of the Canadian Forces. It is a very robust capability. Indeed, every member of the Canadian Forces has access to mental health services. They only have to ask for it.
NDP
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Thank you all for coming and for your presentations.
Earlier, you were asked about a study. I think the one my colleague was referring to was the New England Journal of Medicine study that has come out recently. General Jaeger referred to it in her testimony on traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. It was called “Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in U.S. Soldiers Returning from Iraq”, or words to that effect.
Have any of you referenced that study at all? I wondered if it would have an impact on how you do your screening and also in how the treatment is given. But if you haven't seen it....
Col A.G. Darch
I've just read a summary of it, and of course I've read the comments General Jaeger made to the committee.
We're continually evolving the processes we use to assess and to treat mental health and the processes we use for screening people both before and after deployment. So this study, which has just come out, may well contribute to the evolution of the process, but it's too early for me to comment on it.
NDP
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Okay, thanks.
Colonel Darch, I guess it would be fair to say that your service is the most burdened one right now on these issues with the mission in Afghanistan.
As the defence committee, we were in Afghanistan. We saw the small hospital on the base and met with some of the people who were working there. There was a social worker and a psychiatrist and the doctors there.
What are the specific challenges you're facing right now for your command? I know they must be many, but I wonder if you could boil it down to the ones that take the top of your attention and agenda at this point.
Col A.G. Darch
Some of this is a bit out of my area, but I'll talk about two general things.
First is the challenge of ensuring that we provide the best possible medical care for our soldiers. Second is ensuring that we have enough commissions ourselves as well. With respect to the number of commissions, we have put considerable effort into attracting doctors to the military and retaining them in the military.
For about 12 years we've genuinely had a problem with being short on doctors. We have employed one lieutenant-colonel physician full time in attraction and recruiting, and we have hired two reservist recruiting officers to help specifically with recruiting doctors. As a result, we have 150 captain and major doctors in the military. For a long time that number was below 100, which was quite a significant deficit. As of 2006, we brought that number up to 115, and right now we're at 126. We're on track to have it right up to 150 by about April 2009, which is where we're supposed to be.
NDP
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
I've been told that one of the challenges when you contract civilian doctors is that they get a better deal, and sometimes it makes it harder for the doctors who are part of the military to want to stay. So that's part of the retention problem too.
Col A.G. Darch
Yes. In order to get the civilian doctors to work for us we've had to offer fairly good salaries. But the salaries are so attractive that when there is a position available, we've had military doctors retire so they can get that position.
NDP
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
That's my point.
Commander Briggs, I had the pleasure and the great opportunity to go on the HMCS Calgary last summer. It was quite an experience and I really enjoyed it.
NDP
