Ontario moves to expand mental health care at Burlington hospital

Construction will begin next year on a new mental health unit at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington.

Premier Doug Ford was in Burlington today (Nov. 25) to announce the project will proceed which will see a state-of-the-art space for inpatient and outpatient services at the hospital designed to deliver timely and high-quality mental health and addiction care for more patients in what is promised to be a safe and comfortable setting.

Once opened, the new mental health unit will include:

• A new adult outpatient space better suited to improve clinical flow and patient care
• Improved adult psychiatric intensive care space allowing for better patient-centred care and safety
• Programs will include interdisciplinary teams of nurses, physicians, social workers, psychiatrists and recreation therapists to support complex patient care needs and provide crisis intervention, psychiatric assessment, treatment and stabilization
• Enhanced child and youth programming
• Improved infection prevention and control measures

“This new mental health unit will complement the incredible work Joseph Brant’s hardworking doctors, nurses and other staff do every day to provide high-quality care to the people of Burlington and the surrounding area,” said Premier Doug Ford. “I’m pleased that our government’s investment will support this work as part of our $50 billion worth of investments in more than 50 hospital projects province-wide, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the community.”

The government has not yet announced how much funding it will contribute to the project but $5 million has already been committed by local philanthropists Michael and Laura Paletta.

As a next step, the government will work with the hospital to complete early planning and design for this project. A construction schedule will be confirmed once future planning is complete and the project is tendered and awarded.

Once started, the mental health unit is expected to be operational within two years.