"There was an incident at the Janeway recently where a teenage boy was able to lock himself in a room, climb into the ceiling crawlspace and open a hot water valve that resulted in severe scalding," said Jones. "The child had been placed in the psychiatric ward at the Janeway for his own protection and reports indicate proper procedures were not followed to prevent this incident. The Minister has a duty to investigate this incident and take measures to ensure something like this never happens again.

"When I raised the issue yesterday, hospital administrators were left to explain the situation and I find this totally unacceptable. In the newspaper today, the hospital acted as if this was not serious and indicated no policy changes are necessary. I have spoken with others in the health system who have confirmed there are serious issues in this unit at the Janeway and the Minister must get to the bottom of it before another serious incident occurs."

Jones says this incident raises other important questions about what government has done in the area of mental health since taking office. The PC Party Blue Book made several promises in the area of psychiatric care and since receiving the Luther Report, the Conservatives committed to a new mental health strategy. Government has not provided any information regarding recent consultations on the Child, Youth and Family Services Act.

"I would like to know when government will act on these important mental health issues in the province. They made several promises during the election that have not been acted upon to date. The Reid / Power inquiry also made important recommendations regarding mental health services in the province. These recommendations have sat on the shelf for a year under the direction of this government. If they are really serious about addressing mental health issues, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice will take action now.

"The recent incidents at the Janeway should serve as a wake-up call for this government that their approach to addressing several mental health issues in the province is not working. Government must move forward with a real strategy and a meaningful plan to address these issues now."