Sunday May 3, 2020 ~ NATIONAL
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
Today an investment of $240.5 million for the development, expansion and launch of virtual care and mental health tools to support Canadians was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau .
Taking the opportunity for a Sunday morning family audience, Trudeau again spoke from outside his official residence in Ottawa to address media with the latest of so many programs, funding supports and investments that the federal government has rolled out since the pandemic was made official in mid-March.
“For many Canadians, COVID-19 is having a major impact on their everyday lives, as they work to pay their bills, put food on the table, and take care of themselves and their families. That is why it is more important than ever that Canadians have access to the tools and resources they need to support their health and well-being,” it was stated in a followup news release.
Working with provinces, territories, and stakeholders, this investment will be used to create digital platforms and applications, improve access to virtual mental health supports, and expand capacity to deliver health care virtually, including projects to reach vulnerable Canadians. These supports ware also intended to ease the burden on the health care system as the impacts of COVID-19 continue.
The investment is intended to:
- help Canadians safely engage with their regular health providers and specialist health services through telephone, text, or video-conferencing;
- support access to mental health supports and reliable health information in a safe and secure manner, which will reduce the pressure on our health system;
- help governments, public health officials, hospitals, and health care facilities make evidence-based decisions; and
- support federal, provincial, and territorial initiatives in collaboration with innovators, health stakeholders, and organizations like Canada Health Infoway, to expand virtual health services to Canadians.
This investment will support Wellness Together Canada, an online portal that provides Canadians with free resources, tools, and professional support services to help with wellness and resilience, as well as mental health and substance use. It will also support a growing family of digital products that includes the Canada COVID-19 app, which helps people track their symptoms, receive the latest updates, and access trusted resources.
“These investments will help provide Canadians with virtual health care services that are safe and secure. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, people in every community are struggling and we will continue to help them,” said Minister of Health Patty Hajdu in the release.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada
has a suite of digital tools to help support the physical and mental health and
well-being of Canadians during COVID-19. These include:
- Wellness Together Canada, an online portal dedicated to mental wellness and substance use support. It connects Canadians to peer support workers, social workers, psychologists, and other professionals for confidential chat sessions or phone calls, and makes it easier to find credible information and help address mental health and substance use issues.
- Canada COVID-19, a mobile app that features a symptom tracker, a self-assessment tool, trustworthy up-to-date information on COVID-19, as well as information on mental health and substance use support.
- Get Updates on COVID-19, a web-based email service that provides subscribers with critical information related to the pandemic. Subscribers receive emails directing them to important and authoritative content on the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 website.
- On March 29, 2020, the Government of Canada announced $7.5 million in funding to Kids Help Phone to provide children and youth with mental health support and counselling services during this difficult time.