Child and youth advocate applauds relocation of youth mental health facility

The province's child and youth advocate says he welcomes the Higgs government's decision to move New Brunswick's youth mental health centre out ofCampbellton.

"Am I pleased? Absolutely," said Norm Boss.

"I think that could bring about some great changes in the whole system of how we treat our youth."

Boss made his comments after Health Minister Ted Flemming announced the facility would now be located in Moncton.

Construction on the yet-to-be-completed youth mental health centre was halted earlier this year after ombud Charles Murray recommended cancellation.

Work on the centre was about 90 per cent complete at the time.

Flemming said the centre would be used for rehab programs.

Not following 'recommendations'

Boss said he was surprised when the previous government announced a youth mental health centrewould be built in the northern New Brunswick city.

"I was surprised they certainly were not following the recommendations in the Staying Connected report," he said, referring to a report from 2011 that called for a Moncton centre to treat youth with complex problems.

The Campbellton youth mental health centre would have been located adjacent to the Restigouche psychiatric hospital.

That hospital came under fire earlier this year when Murray released a report detailing a number of abuses there.

Boss acknowledges the province always maintained that staff in the youth centre would be separate from the adult centre staff but said this made the location less essential, asstaffing couldn't be shared.

"They can't cross over," said Boss.

"So what difference does it make if you move it?"

Accessibility factor

Boss said accessibility for the patients at the hospital would have been a major issue had construction gone ahead.

"Most of them don't come from the area, they come from the larger cities," said Boss.

"It's not accessible to everybody in that regard."

Boss also said attracting specialized staff to the hospital was always going to be difficult considering the remote nature of Campbellton and its lack of a teaching hospital.

Boss estimated the new centre will be up and running within fiveyears.