KPMG gets contract for mental health facility OBC
Premier Alden McLaughlin (centre) at the contract signing with KPMG by Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn (left) for government and Kris Beighton for KPMG; (standing, l-r): Niasha Brady, Shari Smith, Ashita Shenoy (KPMG), Roy Tatum, Nancy Barnard, Brid Verling (KPMG), Chief Officer Dorine Whittaker, Andrew Hamilton (KPMG) and Janett Flynn.
(CNS): KPMG is the latest consultant firm to win another lucrative government contract to write a business case for a public project. The auditors have begun work preparing an outline business case (OBC) for a proposed long-term residential mental health facility. A release from government on Monday said officials signed the contract with KPMG some two weeks ago that requires the firm to complete the case within 90 days.
The chief officer in the premier’s health ministry, Jennifer Ahearn, said a Request for Proposals for provision of financial and technical services to prepare the OBC for the facility had closed on 10 August and the Central Tenders Committee had accepted the ministry’s technical committee’s recommendation to award the contract to KPMG.
A stakeholders’ meetings was also held last week that included discussions with members of the proposed facility’s steering committee, as well as mental health practitioners, social workers, faith based organisations, and counsellors. The discussions focused on areas of concern and the challenges faced by the mentally ill and health care practitioners in the absence of a long term care hospital.
The KPMG team has also toured the Health Services Authority’s existing eight-bed inpatient mental health unit and met with CINICO’s management team.
Officials said, “While the information gathering exercise is ongoing, further stakeholder meetings are planned for early November.”
Cayman has faced significant problems dealing with mental health patients for some time and in many case those suffering from mental health problems are not properly treated or diagnosed. They often self-medicate with illegal drugs and alcohol and end up in the criminal justice system and behind bars, leaving the prison system to manage their illness, even though it is not designed to cope with inmates with serious and often long term mental health challenges.
Category: Health, Mental Health
Need a hundred beds. And a lot of meds.
My wife works in this field and 8 beds is NOTHING! You need about 40-50 to make this effective at treating people and relieving stresses on the court system and police. PLEASE consider a bigger facility!
If we have half a million we sent to the Dominica and 154 million for a dock; we can’t have at least 100-200 beds to start with?
Really?
Thank you CIG for taking this bold step. We are following established best practise with our procurements. For too long Cayman has tried to fix the landfill without a plan. This bold move will get to where we should have been 15 years ago.
Most CNS reader who says things like ” just get on with it” regretfully do not possess the grasp of knowledge to understand that for once CIG is not just getting on with it but of equal importance is getting it done right.
Thank you your Premier and Ministry officials for your excellent work.
Let me predict the responses
Waste of money
Just get on with it
Why have a strategy
I built my house without a plan why does CIG need a plan . ( house blew down in last northwester)
Waste of money
Just get on with it
Why KPMG
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I don’t think people have a problem with Government having a plan. I think they have a problem with Government having a plan, then doing nothing about it, then having another plan for the same thing and doing nothing about it, then having another plan etc., etc……
Here we go again!