(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

SHA announces partial reopening of Victoria Hospital in-patient youth psychiatric unit

Feb 18, 2021 | 4:44 PM

After an eight month closure, the child and youth mental health inpatient unit at the Victoria Hospital will reopen up to half capacity, with the successful recruitment of a new child psychiatrist.

In a media release, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said the unit began a “phased service resumption” Tuesday, the first phase of which will involve the re-opening of up to five of its 10 inpatient beds.

The unit was forced to shut its doors in June after the city’s last remaining child psychiatrist retired. Youth from Prince Albert and the North in need of in-patient psychiatric care have been transferred to Saskatoon in the intervening months.

“We are very pleased that children and youth will have better access to the help they need, with the reintroduction of child psychiatry services in Prince Albert,” Everett Hindley, minister of mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health said in the media release.

The newest member of the Victoria Hospital psychiatric team, Dr. Randy Zbuk brings 10 years of experience in the area of child and youth psychiatry with a strong interest in inpatient services and a passion for growing the field of psychiatry, the SHA said.

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“With Dr. Zbuk and the continued support of the Prince Albert adult psychiatry and Saskatoon child and youth psychiatry teams, we are returning to the full continuum of child and youth psychiatry services in the Prince Albert area,” Jennifer Suchorab, SHA’s director of mental health and addiction, northeast said in the release.

No timeline was provided for the full reopening of the unit. Recruitment efforts for child and youth psychiatric resources for Prince Albert and area continue, the SHA said.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow