McTaggart: Mental health facility delays ‘unacceptable’

Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart has said it is “unacceptable” and “concerning” that there is still much work required to get the long term residential mental health facility up and running.

His comments followed Mental Health Commission chairman Dr. Marc Lockhart’s decision to leave his post, which he confirmed in an interview with the Cayman Compass.

Lockhart expressed frustration over a lack of communication from the health ministry on plans for the facility and raised concerns about the “mental health crisis” in the community.

The health ministry had initially issued a statement to the Compass on Lockhart’s departure and the status of the facility, but that statement was recalled Tuesday. We are awaiting updated details about the timeline for completing the facility among issued raised.

The $15 million facility initially broke ground in October 2019, with a projected December 2021 completion date. However, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed construction with March 2023 the revised opening date.

“I urge [Health] Minister Sabrina Turner not to let this critical project fall by the wayside, as occurred with the Waste to Energy Facility project,” McTaggart said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added he had hoped Premier Wayne Panton would have pushed his minister to get the mental health facility opened.

“Amazingly, the Government has still not provided for all that goes with starting up a facility such as this, including hiring staff for the facility,” McTaggart said in his statement.

Lockhart told the Compass that “major construction” on the 15-acre facility, which consists of cottages with two major buildings at a site in East End, is nearly complete. However there are no plans on staffing, nor is the offer of assistance from the experts on the commission being heeded.

“It is concerning that there is still much work required to recruit and train the necessary staff for the facility, to work with families and clinicians on plans for the safe return of patients from overseas, and to develop the necessary community mental health services that will support the effective operation of the residential facility,” McTaggart said in his statement.

“This is unacceptable and should be an embarrassment to the Premier, Minister Turner and the entire Government,” he added.

McTaggart said the mental health facility and the waste-to-energy project are two of the previous Progressives-led government’s major projects and “both were close to being completed”.

“They are critical to our islands, so it pains me to see them both languish. I pray that my comments will, as usually happens, help spur the necessary action by the Minister and the Premier,” he said.

McTaggart lauded Lockhart for his contributions to improving both Cayman’s understanding of mental health issues and the range of services available to treat those impacted in community.

“Under his leadership, the Mental Health Commission was central to developing the business case for the new long-term residential mental health facility now built in East End. That facility has the potential to revolutionise mental health care for Caymanians who need it while also reducing the cost of overseas placements to the Government. I have no doubt that Dr Lockhart will continue to contribute to improving mental health care across the Cayman Islands,” McTaggart added.