VICTORIA – The Archie Courtnall Centre/Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) at Royal Jubilee Hospital will be temporarily relocated in late May and June to allow for much-needed renovations that will give patients a more dignified experience and provide enhanced safety for staff.
From May 29 to June 30, psychiatric emergency functions will be provided by PES physicians and staff within the Royal Jubilee Hospital’s main Emergency Department and through added capacity on the psychiatric inpatient units.
The project will improve processes to provide better patient care, quality, and safety. The renovations will also include a new nursing station with enhanced security features; the addition of a third secure room to increase capacity when needed; the conversion of a short-stay space into an exam room; and extra enhancements to make it a more patient- and family-friendly environment.
The renovations will cost $450,000 with funding in large part provided through the generous support of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
The Archie Courtnall Centre/Psychiatric Emergency Services is a specialized care area accessed through the Emergency Department at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. It provides specialized mental health and substance use services, including intensive assessment and crisis intervention for patients arriving in emergency at the Royal Jubilee Hospital with psychiatric disorders.
The Archie Courtnall Centre was made possible with over $2.1 million in charitable gifts including $1.5 million from the Courtnall Celebrity Classic Society. Since 2003 the Society has given over $2.5 million towards mental health services at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
When it opened 13 years ago, the Centre was a leader in Canada for a service model that provided ‘emergency department’ style services for patients whose main presentation is psychiatric. Today, Psychiatric Emergency Services has outgrown its original needs. Patient volume and presentations have become more complex over the years.
Island Health provides health care and support services to more than 765,000 people on Vancouver Island, the islands in the Salish Sea and the Johnstone Strait, and the mainland communities north of Powell River.
Media inquiries:
Meribeth Burton, Media Relations
250-519-1815
meribeth.burton@islandhealth.ca