Government is designating seven cells at the Westgate Correctional Facility as ?hospital? cells for patients deemed to be too much of a security risk to be housed at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, formerly called St. Brendan?s psychiatric hospital.

The cells ? cell 35 in unit E1, cells 1 and 3 in unit E2, cells 1 and 3 in unit E3, and cells 1 and 3 in maximum security pod C3 ? will be serviced by a doctor, with about 12 individuals already identified who could be housed there, Health Minister Patrice Minors said yesterday. Two full-time psychiatric nurses are already on the Westgate staff, and a joint project between Westgate and the Mid-Atlantic has been in place for some time.

The designation fulfils a legal requirement for Government and is ?an interim step on the way to a forensic unit?, the Minister said.

Government backbenchercalled on his Government to implement a Mental Health Court to help tackle the problem of crime which is related to mental health issues.

Shadow Health Minister , while saying he supported the idea and understood the reasoning behind it, voiced a concern about the strain the move will have on a prison and prisons staff which are already stretched to their limit, however Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister said that consultation has taken place between the prisons staff and those at Mid-Atlantic regarding the best solution for the present.

Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister called for a broader vision to be in place to help the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute itself, calling it the ?poor sister? of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.