People experiencing a mental health crisis have another resource available in Cambridge. Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) recently updated safe rooms in their emergency department. Previously, the hospital had two rooms, but renovations allowed them to open a third space. Last year, mental health-related visits at the hospital doubled, with approximately 19,000 patients passing through the mental health and addictions department. Many of those who need to use a safe room are brought in by the Waterloo Regional Police Service. Officers can drive into the hospital’s emergency bay entrance and then take patients to the safe rooms using a private route. Patients can also come independently, while others are brought in by family members who are concerned for their loved one’s wellbeing. The rooms are used every day and are often at capacity. “The growing population of the community and the challenges that we face in the community pretty much drove the need to have that space,” explained Melissa Sockett, CMH’s emergency department and patient flow program manager. Staff said it is important that patients experiencing a crisis have their own space away from the emergency department. “When someone is in crisis, there can be violence,” Faisal Khan, CMH’s emergency department and patient flow director, said. “We need to take that away from other patients – the pediatric patients or vulnerable patients.” Khan said enabling that separation is important for the wellbeing of everyone. “There is absolutely a level of stress that everyone is facing: the patient, the family, the staff. So, being able to separate that from the department that may also be dealing with a cardiac arrest that’s happening in another corner, it allows us to actually [redistribute] pockets of stress within the department,” Khan explained. The new space was developed, in part, thanks to $300,000 in funding from the City of Cambridge. What does a “safe room” include? The safe rooms are designed to reduce self-harm risks. All hookups used by hospital staff are locked away, special covers are used on ceiling ventilation, and the door handles are smaller and uniquely shaped to prevent ligatures. Safety mirrors and cameras inside the rooms are also made of specialized glass. On the ceiling and walls there are calming murals of flowers, clouds and beach scenery. The rooms are staffed by a psychiatric nurse and a security officer 24 hours a day. Peer support workers are also available five days a week. “It’s very helpful to have someone that’s had the lived experience support them through their crisis or their journey,” Khan said. “Historically, if they’re just in the big [emergency department] where everybody is, our patients can often feel as through they’re not being heard or there isn’t focus on them.” Some patients may need to decompress or sleep off a substance they consumed. Others are eventually admitted to the hospital’s mental health and addictions unit. “They are monitored very closed by the staff, but all of their daily needs are still met,” Sockett said. “We offer them showers. They have breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Staff said there is a need for even more safe rooms, but there is not enough physical space in the emergency department.
