President of the Assembly of Southern Lawyers (ASL) Michael Rooplal agrees with the decommissioning of the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital which he said is long overdue.
However, he said the new facility must be outfitted with the resources required to meet the demands of mental care in the country.
Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh made the announcement during the 2020 budget debate a few days ago, but he gave no timelines for the construction of the new facility or when the decommissioning will take place.
He said this plan had nothing to do with the rescue of 69 people from the Transformed Life Ministry and Rehabilitation Centre in Arouca.
The decision, Deyalsingh said, was a part of a plan to decentralize and deal with mental health issues in this country.
Built in 1902, the hospital is now 117 years old.
“My personal view is that the decommissioning of the St. Ann’s facility is long overdue. The reality is that the demands on the St. Ann’s facility presently have resulted in undue delay in the criminal justice system as in many cases an evaluation of an accused person has to be scheduled months in advance,” said Rooplal.
Speaking from his own experience, Rooplal said one of his clients with a matter before the San Fernando Assizes had to wait over a year for an evaluation date. And, after the evaluation was completed the documents were lost and a fresh evaluation ordered some months after.
“Therefore, one would hope that the new facility will be able to conform with the timelines set out for evaluations of accused persons under the Mental Health Act. Consequently, this new centre must be adequately staffed to meet the present and anticipated demand for mental health services, with proper and modern equipment and housing.”
He said moving the facility is another step in the right direction. “A more centrally located facility will obviously improve access to the services offered there. It is difficult as is getting into PoS on a daily basis, even more so for persons travelling from the far south or the far East,” Rooplal said.
Deyalsingh said the Ministry of Health had been working on a mental health plan for the past two years and it was approved by Cabinet.
He said part of the plan is a Mental Health Director post, which will begin operations in November 2019.