The majority of people treated in an Ontario emergency room after a suicide attempt are not seen by a psychiatrist within six months. The CMAJ study highlights that those in most need of mental healthcare don't get access to the specialists even in times of crisis. The study tracked what happened after the Ontario government introduced a pay incentive in 2011 to encourage psychiatrists to treat patients after they left hospital or after a suicide attempt. Over five years, researchers found patients only 40% of patients who had attempted suicide saw a psychiatrist within six months after their visit to emergency. The bonus - about $30 an appointment and an annual $200 a case - made no difference. The report theorized too many psychiatrists are busy elsewhere, where there is easier money to be made, or that the bonus wasn’t enough.
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