FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 26, 1999 Pysch patients at risk with transfer of services Hamilton– OPSEU President Leah Casselman today called for a moratorium on the closing of all psychiatric facilities in the province of Ontario. Casselman was responding to Health Minister Witmer’s announcement of the closure of Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital and transfer of psychiatric services to St. Joseph’s Hospital. "Ontario’s psychiatric hospitals are recognized worldwide for their professional staff and for their delivery of specialized care," said Casselman. "Hamilton Psych in particular, recently won the American Psychiatric Association’s Gold Award of Excellence. We cannot afford to lose a facility of this calibre." The move into an acute care hospital like St. Joseph’s, workers and patient advocates say, could be devastating for patients who are seriously mentally ill. "This government has absolutely no sense of the needs of this patient population," says Marjorie Martin, President of OPSEU Local 203, which represents more than 600 HPH staff. "They need space, they need an environment that has the comforts of home. Dumping them into a busy, downtown acute care hospital poses grave risks for these patients." Hamilton Psychiatric was one of six hospitals cited for closure by the Health Services Restructuring Commission. Last week the minister announced a five-year reprieve for Psych hospitals in London and St. Thomas. "They realized that the community supports were just not there," says Marjorie, "and we know they’re not there in Hamilton either." "To move psych patients downtown is to bring them one step closer to the streets and the jails," says Casselman. "They deserve facilities they can call their own, and the government has an obligation to provide them. The possibility of even one Psych Hospital being closed is one too many." -- 30 -- Contact: Marjorie Martin, 905.972.4355 (pager), Ellen Gardner, 416.932.0004
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