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The completion date for a new acute adult mental health facility – which was originally meant to be open at the start of 2022 – has been pushed back for the sixth time.
Mental Health Director Andy Weir confirmed that the £7.3m project to redevelop Clinique Pinel in St. Saviour, replacing Orchard House and providing 26 new ensuite bedrooms and other facilities, is now not expected to be complete until January 2024.
The project, which came in the wake of a critical mental health service review, was first launched in 2020.
It was originally due for completion at the end of January 2022, but has since been plagued by delays.
Pictured: Clinique Pinel would replace Orchard House and provide 26 new ensuite bedrooms and other facilities.
It was firstly pushed back until March 2022, with Ministers blaming bad weather delaying construction, then until April, and then until September as an apparent result of labour shortages due to a 'building boom'.
In November last year, Health Minister Karen Wilson confirmed that the £7.3m project to redevelop Clinique Pinel 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 January 2024.
The renovated Clinique Pinel is set to include a new suite described as a "place of safety" for islanders detained by the police due to mental health concerns – dubbed the 'Article 36 suite'.
Following inquiries from Express about the progress of the this suite, Mr Weir 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.”
Pictured: Andy Weir, Director of Mental Health and Adult Social Care.
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 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 A&E, 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 this suite.
It comes as local 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 explained that these new protocols for mental health incidents will allow police to concentrate on fighting crime and give better outcomes for those involved.
Police Chief Robin Smith said: "Dealing with people who are sick is not our key role – we want to catch criminals and respond to incidents quickly, etcetera."
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