Govt approves NAf. 250,520for mental health services
Friday January 27, 2006 - Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, N.A
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten recently inched closer towards more effective mental health care services as a result of Executive Council’s approval of funds totalling NAf. 250,520 to execute a downsized plan for the island territory.
Chairman of the Foundation for Promotion and Guidance of Mental Health Care Dr. Michael Mercuur said the foundation had been informed by the Executive Council on January 18 that the funds had been approved.
Mercuur also announced that members of the Foundation had held an introductory meeting with the Executive Council on January 19.
“During this fruitful meeting the foundation was given the opportunity to discuss mental health care and to elaborate on its plans for mental health care services in St. Maarten. The foundation members committed themselves during this meeting to provide psychiatric mental health services to the community by March 1,” he reported in a statement last night.
He also explained that to achieve this, the foundation had already embarked on the recruitment process and its members were trying to identify and secure a suitable location for a clinic in the Philipsburg area. He said formal recruitment would start within the next two weeks and would be advertised in the various newspapers.
“In addition health care providers, insurances and institutions will be approached shortly to provide information and to establish cooperation,” Mercuur reported.
The foundation was established on the initiative of the Island Government of Sint Maarten on October 10, 2001, with a view to developing and installing a system for mental health care in St. Maarten, among other things.
One of the foundation’s first tasks was to develop and to present a business plan on the further development of mental health care in St. Maarten.
“After extensive studies and deliberations with those involved in Mental Health Care, the foundation finally presented two business plan proposals, one being a multi-annual master plan and the other a downsized start-up plan that was presented to the Executive Council on June 7, 2005,” Mercuur explained.
He said the start-up plan “is less extensive, therefore less expensive” and, as anticipated, funding for this plan would be achieved much earlier.
“This plan aims in this phase on providing and enhancing mental health care services to the general public of the Windward Islands, St. Maarten in particular. Therefore the foundation is seeking to attract a director, a psychiatrist and a social psychiatric nurse,” he explained.
One of the main tasks of the director will be to secure funding for continuation, as well as expansion towards the multi-annual master plan.
He said the psychiatrist and the nurse would provide mental health care consultations in office and in institutions like the prison and Turning Point, as well as home care.
“In this phase admissions on island will not be available as yet. Only when more funding is secured can the multi-annual master plan be executed, which will then include admissions (acute and non-acute), day care activities, health promotion activities, etc., in addition to the services offered by the foundation to the community.”
He noted that the foundation had suggested that there should be cooperation with St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC), for this might lead to sharing of certain services and considerable reduction of expenses. Such cooperation might also lead to ensuring the availability of psychiatric admissions much sooner.
“The foundation is looking into the possibilities of sharing certain services with already established healthcare institutions on the island,” Dr. Mercuur explained.
Copyright ©1998-2005 The Daily Herald
Friday January 27, 2006 - Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, N.A
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten recently inched closer towards more effective mental health care services as a result of Executive Council’s approval of funds totalling NAf. 250,520 to execute a downsized plan for the island territory.
Chairman of the Foundation for Promotion and Guidance of Mental Health Care Dr. Michael Mercuur said the foundation had been informed by the Executive Council on January 18 that the funds had been approved.
Mercuur also announced that members of the Foundation had held an introductory meeting with the Executive Council on January 19.
“During this fruitful meeting the foundation was given the opportunity to discuss mental health care and to elaborate on its plans for mental health care services in St. Maarten. The foundation members committed themselves during this meeting to provide psychiatric mental health services to the community by March 1,” he reported in a statement last night.
He also explained that to achieve this, the foundation had already embarked on the recruitment process and its members were trying to identify and secure a suitable location for a clinic in the Philipsburg area. He said formal recruitment would start within the next two weeks and would be advertised in the various newspapers.
“In addition health care providers, insurances and institutions will be approached shortly to provide information and to establish cooperation,” Mercuur reported.
The foundation was established on the initiative of the Island Government of Sint Maarten on October 10, 2001, with a view to developing and installing a system for mental health care in St. Maarten, among other things.
One of the foundation’s first tasks was to develop and to present a business plan on the further development of mental health care in St. Maarten.
“After extensive studies and deliberations with those involved in Mental Health Care, the foundation finally presented two business plan proposals, one being a multi-annual master plan and the other a downsized start-up plan that was presented to the Executive Council on June 7, 2005,” Mercuur explained.
He said the start-up plan “is less extensive, therefore less expensive” and, as anticipated, funding for this plan would be achieved much earlier.
“This plan aims in this phase on providing and enhancing mental health care services to the general public of the Windward Islands, St. Maarten in particular. Therefore the foundation is seeking to attract a director, a psychiatrist and a social psychiatric nurse,” he explained.
One of the main tasks of the director will be to secure funding for continuation, as well as expansion towards the multi-annual master plan.
He said the psychiatrist and the nurse would provide mental health care consultations in office and in institutions like the prison and Turning Point, as well as home care.
“In this phase admissions on island will not be available as yet. Only when more funding is secured can the multi-annual master plan be executed, which will then include admissions (acute and non-acute), day care activities, health promotion activities, etc., in addition to the services offered by the foundation to the community.”
He noted that the foundation had suggested that there should be cooperation with St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC), for this might lead to sharing of certain services and considerable reduction of expenses. Such cooperation might also lead to ensuring the availability of psychiatric admissions much sooner.
“The foundation is looking into the possibilities of sharing certain services with already established healthcare institutions on the island,” Dr. Mercuur explained.
Copyright ©1998-2005 The Daily Herald
Dr.Mercuur, congratulatins with the starting of this project. Hope you will keep up with the good work.reaaly seems to be an improvement compared with my years o St.Maarten, 1991-2001.
Good luck and contact me when you have time:robertsoer@telbonet.an or rsoer@svbbon.org. Groeten!! ROB.
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