Northern Sask. youth lose inpatient psychiatric unit for 2nd time since 2020
CBC
The child and youth inpatient mental health and psychiatric unit in Prince Albert is temporarily halting admissions for the second time since 2020 over an ongoing struggle to recruit and retain in-demand child and youth psychiatrists.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is calling it a temporary pause while it tries to recruit more.
In a Tuesday news release, it said admissions to the unit were paused on July 18 because the resignation of the area's sole child and youth psychiatrist takes effect this Saturday.
The health authority also apologized for any stress or anxiety this may cause and said the goal is to have the unit reopened to admissions as soon as possible.
The unit previously closed admissions in June 2020 for the same reason — lack of psychiatrists.
Andrew McLetchie, the SHA's vice-president of integrated northern health, told reporters Wednesday afternoon that having one child psychiatrist is not enough to manage the demands of services that are required in Prince Albert and the northern populations it serves.
"The pressure on him as a lone provider was just not making the position attractive and one that could be sustained," McLetchie said of the outgoing psychiatrist.
"Being a lone psychiatrist is a challenging thing within a community with the demands of Prince Albert."
He said a large piece of the SHA's focus now is creating a team environment and "winning conditions" for recruitment to Prince Albert of multiple child and adolescent psychiatrists and to make that position attractive.
Currently, there are two positions in Prince Albert, but McLetchie said there is a discussion about increasing that number to three.
He said the SHA is also working on a broader supportive structure for psychiatrists that work in Prince Albert, including more dedicated support and more integrated teams on the ground that work with the psychiatrists.
Dr. Tamara Hinz, a Saskatoon-based child and adolescent psychiatrist, said these temporary closures have really impacted Saskatchewan's overall capacity because Prince Albert once accounted for one-third of it.
She said when there were two child psychiatrists in Prince Albert, the unit there had 10 of the province's 30 beds. But with a lone psychiatrist, it had been reduced to five beds — and the province's overall capacity was down to 25 beds. Now it will be down to 20.
The outgoing child psychiatrist in Prince Albert also had to manage after hours calls and an outpatient clinic, she said.
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