Health authority looking into concerns raised by psychiatrists about children’s hospital

At the 11th hour, a group of psychiatrists has raised several concerns about the design of the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (JPCH) when it comes to patients with mental health issues.

The grand opening of the hospital was on Sept. 5 and it’s scheduled to begin taking patients Sept. 29.

According to a story done by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the psychiatrists toured the hospital last week, and flagged more than a dozen safety concerns that they say need to be addressed to help prevent children from attempting suicide.

Those concerns included poor sightlines from nursing stations, sliding doors at the room entrances that were built with the tracks on the inside of the room rather than the outside, which could allow patients to harm themselves, and unsecured medical supplies.

They also identified the upper-floor outdoor playground as having glass railings they say are too low. As well, they said easily opened fire exit doors, and unlocked cabinets containing rubber tubing and long bandages are cause for concern.

In a statement to 650 CKOM, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said it is taking the concerns raised by the psychiatrists very seriously. It says some of the concerns raised had already been identified through tours and simulation processes and are being addressed.

The authority also says while it continues to work with psychiatrists to address the concerns, both psychiatry and mental health professionals were involved at the design level.

“It looks like there were some key communication gaps”

Tom Sparrow is an expert on building large hospitals. As the chief project officer for PMP Services, he has been in charge of building a number of hospitals in British Columbia.

He wasn’t involved in the JPCH design and construction, but he says it appears there were some communication breakdowns.

“It looks like there were some key communication gaps and possibly some of the individuals we would have hoped to see be part of that consultation process, maybe they were not involved,” said Sparrow.

Sparrow said he doesn’t doubt that the design team for the children’s hospital had all the proper stakeholders involved from the beginning, but it’s clear by the psychiatrists’ reaction that something fell through the cracks.

When building a major project like a hospital, Sparrow says it’s important to have everyone from clinicians to families involved in the process.

“We allow the healthcare folks, the clinicians, the physicians, public patient advisory folks, patients, family members, we try to get as many folks into these rooms so they can point out any potential issues or concerns that might have been missed through that design and development process,” said Sparrow.