No overnight St Ann’s shutdown

At the post-Cabinet media briefing on June 8, Rahael announced plans to build a new psychiatric unit at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (POSGH) compound as part of the Government’s plan to decentralise mental health care and “dismantle St Ann’s as the dominant asylum.” Rahael said Government will determine whether it needs to continue to use St Ann’s as a mental health unit after the various units are built at major hospitals.

In an interview with Newsday, Blackman said there was once a POSGH psychiatric ward (ward eight) which was closed down. He said the new facility at PoSGH will be modern and “house first-time admissions who have been diagnosed.”

Blackman said patients brought in under the vagrancy programme, who are housed at ward 15, will be decanted from St Ann’s. They will be sent to the Arima Rehabilitation Centre “to be involved in agriculture work.”

With the focus of the health sector reform on primary health care and prevention of illness, he said “we want more patients in the community and greater relative/community input. We will have an extensive education programme.”

Asked how many St Ann’s patients could return to life in the community, he said patients who have been at St Ann’s for a long time can live on the outside if their mental capacity is stable and they take their medication regularly. Blackman said it made no sense to release patients into the society if they are going to be homeless. He said an assessment will be done at the occupational therapy department to find out how well the patient could function and “if they can go into the community in a supervised environment.” He said some families found it hard to cope with the behaviour of mentally ill patients. He said by having education programmes, families will be taught what behaviours to look for and how to assist.

Blackman said families have a role in insisting patients take their medication.

Commenting on staffing, he said more mental health officers, social workers and nurses (to monitor cases) will be trained.

Last December, a number of homeless people were picked up off the streets and taken to St Ann’s.