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Children’s Hospital runs its own adolescent mental health program with a primarily acute-care focus, a term for active short-term medical care for an urgent condition. The St. Joseph’s program has always had a longer-term care focus that involves more advanced or complex treatment.

The single program at Children’s Hospital will maintain the tertiary care component of the St. Joseph’s program, Mehta said.

The closure of its adolescent program will put St. Joseph’s out of the youth mental health sector entirely. The shift to a one hospital-based adolescent mental health program in London will have benefits for family doctors and patients, Mehta said.

Under the existing system, family doctors in Southwestern Ontario may not know the precise details of each separate program and which one is right for the patients they refer, Mehta said.

Establishing a single program at the hospital makes it easier for patients and families to navigate the system, Mehta said.

St. Joseph’s is notifying patients and their families about the hand over to the program at Children’s Hospital.

“We’re encouraging them to stay involved, to help us know, and help LHSC know what their needs are moving forward,” Mehta said.

“The feedback from our leadership team that has been communicating directly with patients and their families has been, for the most part, very positive. They’ve been excited with the idea of the co-location of services within the one organization.”

jbieman@postmedia.com