NOTE: Patients are offered this service when they have visited a participating hospital for mental health reasons. This service does not accept public registrations.
The Wellness Check Services are available in one of two ways:
- Following a Hospitalization
- Following a visit to the Emergency Department
In other words, if you were hospitalized or were at the emergency department for a mental health issue recently, you will be invited to receive a Wellness Check call from the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region.
The goal of the Wellness Check Services is to connect with patients who were recently discharged from a hospital or who presented at an Emergency Department for a mental health concern to ensure that they are functioning well following discharge, and have made necessary connections with both formal community resources and informal support networks.
Through this service, patients will be better equipped to care for themselves in their own home environment as they follow their personal discharge plans.
This type of service has been identified by Accreditation Canada as a standard for hospitals to implement and is supported by the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).
Following a Hospitalization
When a patient is discharged following admission to the hospital for a mental health concern, they will be asked by the hospital staff if they consent to receiving a Wellness Check Call from the Distress Centre. Consent is then sent to the Distress Centre and a Wellness Check Specialist contacts the patient. The consent form includes necessary coordinates (phone number, address, etc.) as well as the reason for the person's hospitalization.
During the Wellness Check call, the Wellness Check Specialist and patient will cover areas such as present wellness, crisis planning, medication compliance, safety check and referral follow-up. Additional referrals can be provided when necessary. A transfer to the Crisis Team will be made if the patient is in crisis and/or deteriorating. If the patient is at imminent risk, emergency services will be contacted.
A reminder that the Crisis Line is available 24/7 will be given at the end of the Wellness Check call, should the patient wish to use the service.
Following a visit to the Emergency Department
Wellness Check calls following a visit to the Emergency Department are identical to those following a hospitalization. The difference is that patients presented themselves at the Emergency Department for a mental health concern but were not admitted to the hospital.