Expanded Mental Health Crisis Unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) will provide quicker access to critical services

The Ontario government is making it faster and easier for people in Peterborough and surrounding communities to connect to high-quality, comprehensive mental health and addiction care services by expanding the mental health crisis unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

“This investment to enhance the PRHC Crisis Response Unit showcases our government’s commitment to addressing mental health challenges,” said Dave Smith Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha. “It will significantly impact the lives of patients and their families in Peterborough and nearby regions, allowing our healthcare professionals to maintain exceptional care for those in need,” added MPP Smith.

The province’s investment will support the expansion of the mental health crisis unit to ensure the hospital is better equipped to deliver responsive and comprehensive care to those in crisis.

Once opened, the expanded mental health crisis unit will include:

  • Additional capacity to address high volumes of acute mental health and substance abuse incidents
  • New crisis unit beds
  • Separation for adult and youth mental health patients to enhance the delivery of care, so they can receive the appropriate and high-quality care in a safe space

As a next step, the ministry is working with Peterborough Regional Health Centre to complete early planning and design for this project. Once further planning is complete and the project is tendered and awarded, a construction schedule will be confirmed.

“Our government is making record investments to connect more people to the care they need, when they need it, no matter where they live,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By expanding the mental health crisis unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre, our government is ensuring people and families in Peterborough and across Eastern Ontario have faster access to mental health and addictions support services, for years to come.”

Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding and modernizing Ontario’s hospitals, making it faster and easier for people of all ages to connect to the high-quality care they need, where and when they need it. In 2020, the province introduced the Roadmap to Wellness, a plan to build a modern, world-class mental health and addictions care system. The government continues to introduce and expand on innovative new programs to ensure access to connected and convenient care to support the health and well-being of all Ontarians.

QUICK FACTS

  • Peterborough Regional Health Centre is a regional hospital delivering acute health care to a rapidly growing population of more than 300,000 in Peterborough and the surrounding communities, including the First Nations of Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Alderville.
  • Over the next 10 years, Ontario’s investments will lead to nearly $50 billion in health infrastructure across the province, building 3,000 new beds in addition to over 3,500 critical care, acute and post-acute beds our government has added since 2020.
  • Through Your Health, Ontario is getting shovels in the ground for over 50 hospital developments across the province.
  • The Ontario government is investing more than $228 million this year to support critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs at 129 hospitals and 58 community health care facilities across the province, a 10 per cent increase from last year. This includes over $95,000 to Peterborough Regional Health Centre in 2024-25.
  • Ontario is investing $3.8 billion over 10 years to fill gaps in mental health and addictions care, creating new services and expanding programs through Roadmap to Wellness.
  • Through the Roadmap to Wellness and the Addictions Recovery Fund the province is adding over 550 new addictions treatment beds to build capacity across the mental health and addictions sector.

QUOTES

“On behalf of Peterborough Regional Health Centre and the patients and families we serve across this community and region, I want to thank the Province, the Ministry of Health, Ontario Health and MPP Smith for today’s incredibly exciting and important announcement. This moment marks the culmination of years of planning and preparation to expand our regional Mental Health & Addictions program. The addition of a purpose-built, expanded Crisis Response Unit at PRHC will have a profound impact on the lives of thousands of patients, improving care and alleviating overcrowding in our Emergency Department, which sees 80,000 visits a year. The need for mental health crisis services in our region has grown substantially over the last decade, and we look forward to launching into the next phase of this project, which will ensure that our Mental Health Crisis Response Unit is equipped to provide the best possible care and support in the years and decades to come.”

–  Dr. Lynn Mikula, President & CEO, Peterborough Regional Health Centre

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