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Mental Health Association says dedicated beds needed at Jim Pattison Children's Hospital

Petition demands re-instatement of Saskatchewan's head pediatrician

The Saskatoon branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association says the province's new children's hospital should have beds dedicated to treating children with mental health issues.

While the emergency department at the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital will assess children with mental health concerns, any treatment will be done at the nearby Irene and Leslie Dubé Centre for Mental Health.

"I don't think putting kids in another space and moving them across to another facility is a good decision," said executive director Faith Bodnar. "I think that going into that hospital and having holistic care for their sons and daughters would be the right decision."

The state of children's mental health treatment has long been a serious concern across the province. The Saskatchewan Children's Advocate wrote in a report last year that many kids can wait months or even years for treatment.

Advocates had hoped the new hospital would employ a child psychiatrist and have dedicated beds inside the hospital, rather than in a separate facility.

"We need to look at mental health the same as we would at physical health," said Bodnar. "It's no different."

Huge improvement

The hospital has made some changes to accommodate children with mental health issues. A psychiatric liaison nurse and social worker will both be working inside the emergency department to provide care.

The hospital's exam rooms will also be private and are designed to offer a calming atmosphere. Children's psychiatrist Tamara Hinz said the new hospital will be a major advancement to the current facilities at the Royal University Hospital.

"[At RUH] you're separated by curtains and there is sort of crying infants all around and it's really not a place conducive for for a psychiatric examination," she said. "That will be a huge improvement to what we currently have."

Hinz said it's worrisome that psychiatric patients will then be transferred to older facilities at the Dubé centre.

"We've all seen those beautiful pictures [from the new hospital] of the family areas and the playground and the theatre," she said. "I really hope that there is going to be a hand extended to them to make sure that they feel that is their space too."

Hinz says the line between mental and physical treatment is often not clear cut. As a result, it's important to have a strong mental health presence in the hospital.

"It could be anything from a teenager who has been admitted for an overdose suicide attempt to a child dealing with severe chronic conditions like cystic fibrosis or leukemia or congenital heart disease," she said.

"It's a population of patients that is only going to grow and become more complex once the Children's Hospital opens."

The hospital will also have two special emergency rooms that will take away access to medical gas, tubing and cords that could be used by patients to harm themselves or others.

The Jim Pattison Children's Hospital is expected to open later this year.