B.C. families call for better health care for kids in crisis

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Candles are seen in front of a picture of Amanda Todd during a memorial in Surrey, B.C., Oct. 19, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VICTORIA – A group of British Columbia parents is calling on the provincial government to provide better emergency care for children in crisis.

One of those who met with Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid at the provincial legislature was Carol Todd, Amanda Todd’s mother.

Amanda Todd’s heart-wrenching video about the bullying and cyber-stalking she experienced was seen worldwide and her subsequent suicide last fall sparked a nationwide effort to support anti-bullying causes.

The parents presented MacDiarmid with a petition signed by 36,000 people calling for improvements to emergency care for children in crisis at provincial hospitals.

The families want MacDiarmid to make changes in emergency rooms that ensure psychiatrists and not physicians make decisions on whether to admit a child to care.

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