Background

The province of PEI has a growing number of mental health services and programs for children and youth, including a small acute inpatient unit adjacent to adult services. It has been identified that this unit requires a larger, purpose built, dedicated space that includes age appropriate recreation, play and programming space. The planning will ensure individuals under the age of 18 in need of acute MH&A care have access to appropriate space that is aligned to support their cognitive, behavioural, psychosocial, and educational needs. This service will be located at the QEH in Charlottetown.

This work includes:

• creating age appropriate, welcoming and inclusive environments based on best practices and evidence-based research;
• age appropriate play/recreation/exercise space for those accessing acute MH&A care;
• addressing issues of stigma in the built environment;
• improving patient safety, accessibility and privacy;
• increasing opportunities for supported learning and wellness development for clients and patients;
• increasing opportunities for local and regional research and professional education

Service

The child and youth mental health and addictions inpatient services will support patients with serious mental and/or addiction illness that require a higher level of acute care services than can be provided within a community- based care setting. Strategies to transition patients to the community will be the primary objective for most patients, around which the care plans will be structured. While in the hospital, patients will receive assessment, treatment and rehabilitative services, and will be supported by an interprofessional care team providing consultation and specialty services to meet the needs of patients. Programs and spaces will be available to support inpatients within the context of their family (e.g., visiting spaces, technologies to virtually connect patients and their families or community care providers). This service will acknowledge and honour diverse cultural, social, and gender backgrounds and experiences.

Result

• A new, dividable, 6 bed, fully accessible, MH&A Child and Youth Acute Care Unit
• A secure, outdoor, age appropriate play area

Benefits

• A new, modern, fully accessible, MH&A Child and Youth Acute Care unit that provides:
  • an interdisciplinary care delivery model;
  • enabled by supporting technologies;
  • facilitated by optimally designed spaces to allow the right care with access to both indoor and outdoor recreation and healing opportunities
• A built environment for children and youth designed to support age and developmental appropriate medical, cognitive, behavioral, psychosocial, and educational needs
• Improves access to care and reduces wait times
• Improves patient and client privacy and accessibility
• Supports the use of virtual medicine by implementing state-of-the-art technology
• Allows teams to work more closely on patient care
• Provides a modern, state-of-the-art facility for health professionals to work in and care for patients and clients while improving the capacity to recruit and retain MH&A professionals