There is a backlog of psychiatric assessments in the Manitoba criminal courts, report a Free Press editorial released just today. “It’s months-long delays for people who have been accused of crimes and are waiting for psychiatric assessments,” reports the Free Press. This is not a new story. The Free Press, reported in February 2013 that “Lengthening lineups for psychiatric assessments are delaying cases, forcing accused persons to sit in pre-trial custody in jail or the remand centre.”

In 2013, the immediate issue was that four of the five forensic psychiatrists at the Health Sciences Centre were about to retire, leaving a large lineup to one psychiatrist. Indeed, this is exactly what happened. Dr. Jeff Waldman, the remaining forensic psychiatrist said “it’s not something a lot of people are interested in doing.” It was left to him to help convince experts to join his team at the Health Sciences Centre in Manitoba to help with the immense workload.

11 years later, it still remains a problem; and not just for Manitoba. The Free Press reports that “it’s been a problem in British Columbia, in Alberta, in Nova Scotia, in PEI, and further afield in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia.”

This illustrates the interdependencies that are throughout the system and the need to achieve coordination to achieve over all timeliness, efficiency and justice.