Services and Facilities at Bellevue Hospital to be Expanded

A new 100-bed neuropsychiatric facility is to be established at the Bellevue Hospital, as part of structural reorganisation of the institution to improve operations and improve service delivery.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton made the disclosure at the Bellevue Hospital’s ‘Staff Wellness Day and Awards Ceremony’ held on Wednesday (July 20). He said the reorganisation will see the hospital being split into two entities: the neuropsychiatric facility which would serve Kingston and St. Andrew, and an adult care facility which would model a residential nursing home facility for the over 400 long-stay residents/social cases that have been discharged.

“The idea is to treat people in the communities. Have a smaller institution for severe cases that require that kind of medical attention. The idea is not to keep admitting people. The idea is to get society to be part of the therapy and the recognition that the problem exists, which is why we need to mainstream the mental wellness agenda,” he explained.

Other improvements include expansion of services such as skills training, education, recreation, modernisation of the dietary department, relocation of patients to community residential facilities and better linkage with the community mental health services to reduce the potential for admission of long-stay patients.

Dr. Tufton in his remarks at the ceremony held at the Hospital’s Windward Road address in Kingston, said a master plan committee is to be established, which will lead the reorganisation of the facility.

“We have some plans for this institution. Some of those plans have already started and I want to commend the team led by the Chair for those efforts. Development of a project proposal for professional assessment of the compound with an aim to relook at the structure and develop architectural designs,” he added.

The Bellevue Hospital was established to provide care for mentally ill clients. The hospital is divided into acute, sub-acute, psycho-medical, mental subnormal, long-stay, psycho geriatric, and rehabilitative wards. The hospital presently has 23 wards and over 700 patients.