The Health Services Authority is considering a day care facility for mentally ill people, but a permanent residence still looks a long way off.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on 28 May, acting HSA CEO Lizzette Yearwood said the facility would be based at George Town Hospital.
A daily bus service would transport mentally ill people between their homes and the hospital, she said.
Ms Yearwood said a day care facility would give other family members peace of mind when they left for work or attended other business.
Such a facility would also bring mentally ill people into more frequent contact with health care professionals, she said.
This could lead to a reduction in hospital readmissions owing to non-compliance with medicine schedules or other problems, she explained.
During the session, the assembly heard several concerns from members about mentally ill people wandering the streets and causing problems within communities.
Ms Yearwood said a day care facility could resolve some of these issues.
Later in the Finance Committee debate, Health and Human Services Chief Officer Dianne Montoya was asked why a full time mental health facility does not exist in Cayman.
Mrs. Montoya said it is not as easy as just building one mental health facility in Cayman and putting all the mentally ill patients in it.
Based on facilities in Jamaica – where some mentally ill Caymanians are sent – multiple facilities would be needed to cater for different categories of mental health patients, she said.
‘We are working to improve facilities but we need to do more research before we build anything.’
She said an average of five to seven mental health patients are accommodated in facilities in Jamaica at any one time.
Health Minister Anthony Eden said the Government eventually wanted to bring these people home.
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