Providing Psychiatric Care and Consultation in Remote Indian Villages
Harvey Armstrong M.D.1
1 Clarke Institute Family Court Clinic, 950 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4W 2J4
Faculty of the University of Toronto department of psychiatry take several trips a year to remote Indian villages in northwestern Ontario to deliver care to the Cree and Ojibway people and to provide consultation and training to the service delivery providers in the area. The program is part of a larger medical program operated by the university and financed by the Canadian government. Psychiatrists face numerous cultural and language obstacles in addition to harsh weather conditions and limited means of communication in the vast Sioux Lookout zone. When they are back in Toronto, they keep in touch via two-way radio with professional staff in the zone for ongoing consultations.
