The Health Services Authority says it has implemented an immediate solution to enhance the safety and care of adolescents requiring inpatient mental health services.
A press release from the authority on Thursday stated that “a dedicated Adolescent Behavioural Health Inpatient wing has been established adjacent to the existing inpatient facility”.
The action comes less than two weeks after the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service announced they were investigating a report of a sex crime on a minor at the 11-bed mental health unit at the Anthony S. Eden Hospital.
The same day – 3 July – health officials announced it would no longer house adult and child patients at the hospital’s mental health unit and that and that older patients would be transferred to the Poinciana Rehabilitation Centre in East End.
‘Interim measure’
This new solution – which the Health Services Authority as called an “interim measure” – involves a dedicated three-bed space located adjacent to, but structurally separated from, the existing mental health inpatient facility. This new space has an independent access point separate from the Adult Inpatient Behavioural Health Facility; dedicated dining and recreational area; private bathroom facilities; and constant CCTV monitoring for enhanced safety.
“This interim measure allows us to provide age-appropriate care to adolescents in a safe and secure environment while permanent infrastructure solutions are being finalised,” the press release stated. “The need for adolescent mental inpatient beds have increased consistently over the years. By separating the units, we have restructured our existing space to better meet the needs of all patients – without reducing the overall quality of care.”
As a result of the restructuring of the space, the adult inpatient unit now accommodates up to eight patients.
The press release also stated that as of now, two adolescent patients are receiving care in the newly established wing. “They are supported by HSA’s team of trained mental health nurses, clinicians, and social workers who continue to provide specialised therapeutic support and supervision,” it noted.
Rising demand for care
In its statement of 3 July, the Health Services Authority said that the overwhelming increases in the number of mental health cases had created “enormous strain” on all its mental health facilities.
Demand for adolescent inpatient care rose from seven admissions in 2021 to 36 in 2024, the Authority said in a statement, adding that based on admission numbers so far, it anticipated there would be more than 50 adolescent cases this year.
Demand for adolescent outpatient mental health services also increased by 50% over the same three-year period, the Authority said.
Also in a statement issued on 3 July, Health Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks said her ministry had already been looking at a solution to separate adults from children in the hospital’s inpatient mental health unit.
“Once taking office, it quickly became evident to me that an urgent solution was needed to separate the adults and children receiving inpatient mental health services,” she said. “My ministry team and I have spent the last few weeks looking at a wide variety of options that would allow for a dedicated space for children at the Anthony S. Eden Hospital.”
Mental health issues in adolescents is a growing problem in Cayman. Speaking on Radio Cayman on 4 July, Minister for Youth Isaac Rankine said that over the first six months of 2024, there had been 37 attempted suicides or overdoses of young people aged between 10 and 20.
“That is a problem we know exists right now … we are working on it. We can no longer kick the can down the road,” he said.
A police spokesman said on Thursday said no one had been charged in connection with the alleged sexual assault at the hospital and that inquiries continued.
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