Deals signed with builders on mental health centre

(CNS): Three local contractors that have been selected to work on the government’s proposed long-term residential mental health facility in East End signed their contracts last week, government officials said in a release. Government had to tender the project several times after it struggled to find a single general contractor that was available to do the $15 million job. As a result it split the project into packages and phases.

With the deals now signed, the long awaited project, which has been in the works for years, could move towards groundbreaking next week, Health Minister Dwayne Seymour said.

“While the establishment will aim to reintegrate patients back into society, it will also offer a secure and productive place to live for those who need life-long care,” Seymour said as the contracts were signed. “I look forward to breaking ground on this historic initiative next week.”

Premier Alden McLaughlin, who was health minister in the last administration, said that one of the driving forces behind the facility was to bring home patients who are in institutions overseas.

“It will allow them to be closer to their families and friends as they undergo treatment, which has proven to be beneficial to help them return as wholesome members of the community,” McLaughlin said