Acute mental health care units (psychiatry)

Acute mental health care units (psychiatry) are intended for adults and adolescents who are experiencing behavioural disorganization that puts their own safety or the safety of others at risk. These individuals are experiencing significant distress, and their daily functioning is impaired. They may be admitted voluntarily by a psychiatrist or child psychiatrist, or through legal measures.

The purpose of this type of hospitalization is to assess the person’s mental condition, make a diagnosis and begin the appropriate treatment aimed at stabilizing the individual. The professionals and the person then work toward reintegration into the community.

The acute mental health care units have 57 beds, including 36 at the Rimouski-Neigette facility and 21 at the Rivière-du-Loup facility.

The Rimouski-Neigette and Rivière-du-Loup hospital facilities provide:

• a regular unit for people who require hospitalization but whose symptoms have decreased in intensity and whose crisis state has stabilized;
• a secure closed unit for people who present a danger to themselves or others, those with behavioural disorders related to their mental condition and at risk of fleeing, as well as those awaiting an evaluation or a hearing before Québec’s administrative court.