On this edition of Your Call, we speak with Kaiser Permanente's mental health workers who are striking in San Francisco today to protest worsening access to mental health care for children.
Psychologists, therapists, and social workers say they have been demanding increased staffing to halt the decline in services and reduce long wait times for appointments, but Kaiser has ignored their requests. They say children dealing with severe depression typically have to wait four to six weeks for their first visit with a mental health therapist. Kaiser denies these claims, saying they have increased child therapist staffing and are recruiting to fill open positions.
Kaiser sent us a statement, but declined our invitation to join the show.
Guest:
Chaya Rivka Mayerson, child psychologist at Kaiser Permanante San Francisco
Web Resource:
SF Chronicle: Kaiser mental health workers in SF picketing again to protest patient wait times
