Dear MHNIG Member,
As you are aware, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) has had lengthy correspondence with the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) regarding its Council’s decision to require registered nurses (RNs) to obtain an order to initiate psychotherapy services once proclaimed as a controlled act. In less than two years’ time, RNs will be authorized to perform psychotherapy, and yet be excluded from initiating treatment. Unlike other regulated professions which will be authorized to perform this controlled act, the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) will require RNs who have been safely performing psychotherapy for years, and sometimes decades, to obtain an order from a physician or nurse practitioner. The concerning impacts that this will have on access to mental health services are problematic.
Since then, Dr. Eric Hoskins as Minister of Health and Long Term Care wrote a letter to the CNO stating:
“Once proclaimed, a RN will require an order from a physician or nurse practitioner (NP) to perform this controlled act. I do not believe that this position is in the best interest of patients. Therefore, in anticipation of the controlled act of psychotherapy being in force, I ask that the College’s Council revisit this requirement and allow RNs to initiate the controlled act independently. Access to high quality mental health services is extremely important to me and I have full confidence in a RNs’ ability to make an appropriate assessment to initiate the act.”
Rather than following this direction, the CNO has released a new survey for all nurses who may practice psychotherapy with a deadline of Sunday, July 8, 2018. We are encouraging you to complete this survey highlighting the need for RNs to be able to continue to initiate and perform psychotherapy including the controlled act of psychotherapy.
It is important that the information gathered in this survey is complete and reflects all nursing perspectives so that CNO can make clear and balanced decisions regarding registered nurses who are working closely with vulnerable populations.
The CNO survey closes on Sunday, July 8, 2018. Click here to take the CNO survey
Thank you for your ongoing support
MHNIG Executive