Ontario psychiatrist contracted for mental health assessment of P.E.I. prisoner
'Psychiatry service in the province at present is probably in a crisis situation'
A psychiatrist from Ontario has been contracted by P.E.I. to conduct a mental health assessment on a prisoner because there are no forensic psychiatrists available on the Island.
Provincial court Judge John Douglas had previously ordered John Tyson Boudreault, 23, to undergo a forensic mental health assessment in late November.
Forensic assessments are usually done through several interviews and are used to determine if a person is mentally fit to stand trial and be held criminally responsible for their actions.
Boudreault is charged with assault causing bodily harm and resisting arrest after two incidents in the summer. One involved a daytime attack on a senior on a busy city street. The other incident involved a homeowner who discovered a stranger in his shower.
According to police at the time, Boudreault resisted arrest, kicking two officers and spitting on another.
We've been attempting to piecemeal with psychiatrists from other locations.— John Diamond, Crown prosecutor
Crown prosecutor John Diamond said it's been difficult getting a forensic psychiatrist to assess Boudreault or any P.E.I. prisoners in the last couple of years.
"Psychiatry service in the province at present is probably in a crisis situation. They're losing more than they're recruiting so it's not a positive situation," he said.
Forensic hospital in Nova Scotia 'overwhelmed'
At the moment, there are no forensic psychiatrists on P.E.I. The one previously working for the province left their position.
Diamond said Health PEI is working to fill that vacancy but in the meantime, the court had been relying on the East Coast Forensic Hospital in Nova Scotia to assess Island prisoners.
I think their efforts have been fairly extraordinary to get this accomplished.— John Diamond, Crown prosecutor
There are usually about five of these assessments arranged every year, but even still, the East Coast Forensic Hospital has been too busy to treat anyone from P.E.I. for the last two years, he said.
"We've run into quite a few difficulties with the service in Halifax. They're overwhelmed with the problems in Nova Scotia," Diamond said.
"So we've been attempting to piecemeal with psychiatrists from other locations."
Delays in prisoner assessments
Without that access, P.E.I. has had to line up psychiatrists elsewhere. The forensic psychiatrist from Ontario is expected to arrive and do their assessment on Boudreault in early January.
"Boudreault is someone who has been in our system for quite some time, so I think their efforts have been fairly extraordinary to get this accomplished," he said.
The lack of access to forensic psychiatrists is not ideal as it causes delays in prisoner assessments. Diamond said the hope is that outsourcing won't be the solution for much longer and P.E.I. will eventually have its own forensic psychiatrists.
Boudreault is currently being held in custody at Hillsborough Psychiatric Hospital in Charlottetown. He is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 23, 2020.