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Parents advocate for son due to bed shortage for youth mental health care at CHEO

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OTTAWA -

The parents of a Carleton Place teen say they are worried for their son’s safety because of a shortage of mental health beds for youth.

Seventeen-year-old Austyn St. Jacques has autism and other complex needs. Earlier this month, his parents say his mental state was regressing, and his behaviour was changing.

Mother Amanda Quinn says Austyn was showing "social regression", adding, "He became very eradicated, and agitated."

Quinn and Austyn’s father Phillip St. Jacques took him to the nearest emergency room at the Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH).

"We asked for help, and he was admitted when we brought him through the emergency department," said Quinn.

His parents want him transferred to CHEO for targeted long-term care. CHEO says there are no beds available in their psychiatric unit.

Austyn’s parents say there is a medical team at CHEO that knows Austyn and his needs.

A statement to CTV News Ottawa, attributed to Joanne Lowe, Vice-president of Mental Health and Addictions, CHEO; Executive Director of the Youth Services Bureau, and Monique Lugli, Vice-president of Child Development and Community Servicessays,"Unfortunately, CHEO’s psychiatric unit currently has no available beds but our team has been in touch and will support this family and assist our colleagues at the Queensway Carleton Hospital as best we can."

The statement adds, "We are full of compassion for children and youth – and their families – who struggle with serious developmental issues and are unable to get access to the health care and support services they need and deserve. It is a failure of our entire system when they end up living in a locked psychiatric unit. There is an urgent need for more investment in home-based and community-based support services as well as live-in treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic underscores this."

Quinn and St. Jacques worry Austyn will be discharged from QCH in the coming days, and he won’t be getting the treatment and care he needs.

"We don’t have a choice but to take him home and have him discharged is basically what we are being told, we are worried that all the blocks will fall back into play again," said St. Jacques.  

St. Jacques describes his son’s situation as, "He is in a state of limbo right now."

Quinn says, “We don’t feel that we are equipped, or the community is equipped, to receive this child in the state that he is in. He is having outbursts that are erratic, he is having grand mal seizures, he is a flight risk…"

In a statement, the Queensway Carleton Hospital says, "We strive to provide the best possible care for every person who enters our doors, and to continuously make improvements to the quality of care. Given privacy legislation, we cannot comment on individual cases."

The hospital says, "Under normal circumstances we do not admit pediatric patients. If we have any patient that could be more appropriately cared for at a different hospital, we call them to see if a transfer is possible."

Quinn and St. Jacques say they will continue to advocate for Austyn.

"There is no greater fear as a parent than not knowing about the safety and well-being of your child," says Quinn.

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