Queensway Carleton Hospital gets green light to build mental health unit
Ottawa’s Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) has been given the go-ahead to begin the expansion and reconstruction of its Mental Health Unit.
The hospital announced on March 5 that it has received approval from the Ministry of Health and an additional $9 million in funding to begin the construction work. The project is expected to begin this spring, and completion is targeted for 2023.
The project scope of work calls for renovations to two existing departments, and construction of a two-storey addition. The project will allow QCH to offer additional inpatient beds and expanded outpatient mental health services.
“By rebuilding our mental health unit, we can provide more people in our community with the care they need and improve the patient experience,” said Dr. Andrew Falconer, QCH president and CEO. “Mental health supports for this community are more important than ever.”
Once the Mental Health Unit is completed, the renovated unit will include a secure outdoor courtyard for patients, additional spaces for group support, an area for exercise and a comfort room for patients to utilize when they need it.
“The Queensway Carleton is such an important part of Nepean and our Ottawa community,” said Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod. “This major investment in the QCH mental health unit will make a tremendous impact.”
Queensway Carleton Hospital’s mental health program provides intensive and acute mental health inpatient beds, 24/7 emergency consultations, outpatient assessment and treatment, a recovery-oriented group-based day treatment program, and an outreach clinic that provides telemedicine clinics to Arnprior Regional Health and Carleton Place District & Memorial Hospital.
“On behalf of the entire Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation Board, I would like to acknowledge the overwhelming generosity of our community, who have raised a staggering $6 million for our HOPES RISING campaign, in support of a renovated Mental Health unit at Queensway Carleton Hospital,” said Ronald Richardson, Chair of the QCH Foundation Board of Directors. “We are thrilled that these extensive renovations can now move forward, and that a renewed and therapeutic space that supports hope, healing and recovery is in sight for our patients.”