THE completion date for a new acute adult mental-health facility – which was originally meant to open at the start of 2022 – has been pushed back for a sixth time.
It has now emerged that the £7.3m project to redevelop Clinique Pinel in St Saviour, replacing Orchard House and providing 26 ensuite bedrooms and other facilities, is not expected to be complete until January.
The project, which came in the wake of a critical mental-health service review, was launched in 2020.
The deadline was first pushed back to March 2022, with ministers blaming bad weather delaying construction. It was then delayed until April last year, and then to September as a result of labour shortages due to a “building boom”.
In November last year, Health Minister Karen Wilson confirmed that the project was not expected to be complete until March 2023.
By April 2023, the new facility had still not opened and the move-in date was once again pushed back to July.
It has now emerged that completion of the facility has been delayed a sixth time, until next month.
The renovated Clinique Pinel is set to include a new suite described as a “place of safety” for Islanders detained by the States police due to mental-health concerns – dubbed the ‘Article 36 suite’.
Following inquiries about the progress of this suite, Andy Weir, director of mental health and adult social care, said: “The Article 36 suite cannot open until Orchard House has moved to Clinique Pinel and the completion of this work has been delayed until January 2024.
“We currently anticipate that the Article 36 suite will open by the end of January.”
Article 36 of Jersey’s Mental Health Law allows a police officer to remove a person from a public place if the officer believes that the person is suffering from a mental disorder and is in immediate need of care or control.
A person who is removed to a place of safety under this Article may be detained for up to 72 hours to decide if any other arrangements are needed for the person’s care or treatment.
Currently, people detained under Article 36 will either be taken to the police station or to the Emergency Department. However, the new secure suit at Clinique Pinel has been described as a “place of safety” for Islanders in a mental-health crisis.
It is planned that a senior nurse will be on duty around-the-clock at Clinique Pinel to supervise the suite.
It comes as police officers are no longer routinely being sent to mental-health incidents unless there is a risk to life or a crime is being committed, in an approach that mirrors one being rolled out across England and Wales.
Earlier this year, the Island’s police chief, Robin Smith, explained that the new protocols for mental-health incidents would allow police to concentrate on fighting crime and give better outcomes for those involved.
Mr Smith said: “Dealing with people who are sick is not our key role – we want to catch criminals and respond to incidents quickly.”
