New adult mental health unit opens in Saskatoon

A new short-stay mental health unit is now open in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority announced the opening of the new seven-bed unit at Royal University Hospital earlier this week.

The new beds meant for adult patients requiring a stay in hospital of seven days or less will serve as another option to the longer-term mental health care facility at the Leslie and Irene Dubé Centre for Mental Health.

“Now that it’s here, we’re so excited that our patients are being cared for in a space that’s therapeutic and conducive to recovery and healing,” said Karyn Kawula, Director of Inpatient, Mental Health, Addiction Services at the SHA in Saskatoon.

Staffed around the clock by two nurses, the unit will also have care aides staffed for 16 hours a day with psychiatrists on-site five days a week, in addition to having a psychiatrist on-call.

Kawula said the unit will also have direct access to social workers, addictions support and recreational therapy that will be in constant consultation with staff.

“In any psychiatric care environment, it’s really important to have an inter-disciplinary approach and work as a team to best support the patients accessing these services,” Kawula said, adding the same attention applies to family and community support.

“Our government is committed to strengthening and expanding mental health and addictions services in Saskatchewan,” Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health Everett Hindley said in a government news release.

“This new unit will help to address pressures and wait times for individuals in need of immediate intervention and support. It provides an appropriate therapeutic space for patients in urgent need of mental health care while community supports are being arranged.”

The unit occupies the space where the former RUH emergency department was located, which has since moved to a space inside the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.

While Kawula sees this new unit as a huge step forward in addressing mental health needs, it has her thinking about the future of mental health care in Saskatchewan.

“I think that it’s a taboo subject that’s now becoming more and more openly spoken of,” she said. “With that comes the need for more support, because people are identifying that they have mental health needs and mental health conditions.”

“We definitely need more beds to support that population.”

Construction began in August 2020 after being delayed in March due to the arrival of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan.

Initial construction costs of $1.1 million were provided by the province, in addition to $1.55 million in annual operating costs, according to the release.