The average wait time to access psychiatry services in Saskatchewan is 113 days, and 1,000 kids are waiting for a child psychiatry consultation in the northern half of the province alone. That, from the Official Opposition, as the NDP calls on the government to reconsider a bipartisan committee to study and make recommendations to address the mental health and addictions crisis.

Leader Ryan Meili says there have been all kinds of special committees on various issues, but the government has rejected one to investigate the province’s broken mental health system, and the disproportionately high suicide rates. At the Legislature on Wednesday, Meili introduced Janice Rathgeber. Janice works at a care home and lives with her 83 year old mother. On two occasions recently, Janice required emergency services for mental health but was waiting for hours in Regina ERs for a doctor and medication. The NDP says in a news release she repeatedly banged her head, thrashed and screamed for help, but received none because of staffing shortages.

Meili says, people struggling with mental illness are being repeatedly denied service when they need it most, because there isn’t enough funding and it is driving away key medical specialists.