Essential piece of new mental health unit in Happy Valley-Goose Bay in place

The province has awarded the design contract for a newsix-bed mental health unit in Happy Valley Goose Bay, in what the minister of health and community services calls an essential piecetoward making the unit a reality.

"It's the trigger that the whole thing is ready to roll," said John Haggie.

The $426,000 contract was given to the St. John's-based firm Fougere MenchentonArchitecure, which will now begin sketching out what the new unit will look like. Theplans will then be tendered out for the actual construction.

The long-awaitedunit will be attached to the Labrador Health Centre. Haggie stressed that it's actually the last piece to be implementedin theeffort to increase mental health services in Labrador.

"The crucial piece is to really emphasize more the role of community supports, and treatment in the home," he said.

• No more wait lists for mental health services in Happy Valley-Goose Bay

To that end, LabradorGrenfell-Health hasincreased those supports in the last 18 months, which includeestablishing mental health walk-in clinics, increased access to mental health services via telehealth, and offering online counselling.

Haggie said with those efforts, the number of Labradorians waiting for counselling has decreased from 400 to four.

Helping health-care workers

Mental health among health-care workers has also been an issue of Labradorof late, with one senior nurse speaking publicly in February of how stress and workload drove her to quit.

• Nurse staffing issues at crisis level in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, says union

Haggie said the health authority will be taking steps to ensure adequate staffing and supports for the new mental health unit, and has a two-year lead time to get things right.

Haggiehopesthe design work will be finished in time to award the contract for construction by the end of 2019, with the goal to begin construction at the start of the 2020 season.

The 2019 budget included $1 million toward the construction of the unit.

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