The Ottawa Health Team – Équipe Santé Ottawa (OHT-ÉSO) has identified an opportunity to enhance the coordination and mapping of Mobile Crisis Response programs across Ottawa by convening key partners to deepen the understanding of crisis response initiatives. 

OHT-ÉSO has conducted collaborative mapping sessions with essential organizations, including The Ottawa Paramedics, The Ottawa Hospital, ANCHOR, The Youth Service Bureau (YSB), and dispatch services such as The Distress Centre and 211. In addition, we are engaging with ongoing support providers such as CMHA Ottawa and YSB. These sessions focus on developing comprehensive protocols, optimizing crisis intervention services, and establishing clear communication and coordination strategies, particularly for scenarios where multiple response teams may converge at the same incident. This collaborative initiative enhances our collective capacity to deliver an effective and integrated response to crises throughout Ottawa.

Goals

• Identify and provide a comprehensive overview of mobile crisis response teams operating in Ottawa, including their unique service models.
• Develop a unified decision trees and communication protocols to ensure coordinated responses, particularly when multiple teams are deployed to the same call.
• Map post-crisis follow-up services, including establishing clear eligibility criteria and warm transfer processes.
• Review key operational aspects, such as geography, intake and referral criteria, response timelines, patient information sharing policies, and data collection practices, to ensure a cohesive and equitable service delivery model. 
• Future efforts include outlining evaluation metrics and recommendations for assessing the performance and impact of crisis response teams’ coordination and alignment efforts.

For More Information

Shaina Smith, System Transformation Lead, [email protected]