Almost 4,000 people a year commit suicide. One in ten people at some point in their lives is seriously affected by depression, a leading illness among women 15 to 44 years old. Too often mental health treatment, care, rehabilitation and support are not available or accessible to those who need them. For the most part funding and policies need to support and create a continuum of care based on what the evidence shows works best. But this adage has not been applied to the mental health system.
Many people feel that mental health remains a second class cousin within the health care system.
The CPA s advocacy and public education activities are aimed at ensuring better quality care is available within the health care system and at ensuring that psychiatrists are able to practice medicine to the best of their ability. As a precursor to such change, attitudes about mental illness must also change. Professional unity within psychiatry and building bridges with allied professionals, consumers, family and community are an essential element of implementing the CPA mission of quality care for all.