ASK most Jamaicans what is the first thought they have when they hear the name Bellevue Hospital and the overwhelming answers are “Mad house” or “Mad people”.

That kind of thinking has been a stain on the hospital since it came into existence in 1861 as the Jamaica Lunatic Asylum. It’s a negative perception that Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton wants to change.

“I am of the view that the Bellevue name is, in and of itself, a stigma,” Tufton told reporters and editors at last week’s
Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange which discussed the issue of mental health.

“I think the name does connote a particular perception which is negative, and changing the name is a consideration that I, as minister, will certainly recommend, but it’s a team effort, so I will discuss it with the team as part of the way forward,” he added.

Tufton said the hospital is slated for redevelopment, and actually a request for proposals —based on terms of reference for the redesign — has been issued. The intention is to construct a 100-bed facility that will address the acute cases.

“Bellevue is on 50 acres of land and we intend to segment that land for [a] mental wellness institution for acute cases, and we intend to use the rest of the lands for some other health-related purposes which we will comment on in the future,” he said.

“Part of that is, we have been exploring how do we position Bellevue in the minds of the populace, not as an institution that would result in those who go and get treatment being outcast, but as an institution that is more positive, that generates more positive perception that if you get help then you are better off, not worse off by virtue of how people treat you,” the health and wellness minister said.

Historical information on Bellevue’s website states that the formal offering of mental health services in Jamaica started in the 1840s with the construction of the first designated building for treating mental illness adjoining Kingston Public Hospital.

“By 1861 the Jamaica Lunatic Asylum, as it was known then, came into existence at its present location at 16 ½ Windward Road, Kingston. [In] 1938 the name was changed from the Jamaica Lunatic Asylum to the Jamaica Mental Hospital. The current name was adopted in 1946,” the website states.

It also says that Bellevue’s materialisation came from a petition led by private medical practitioner Dr Louis Bowerbank. That petition led to an enquiry which resulted in the establishment of a mental hospital for the custody and care of the mentally ill.

Additionally, it states that the hospital accommodates approximately 397 to 400 patients — acute, sub-acute, psycho-medical, mental subnormal, long-stay, psychogeriatric and rehabilitative — across 23 wards.

In 2010 the hospital, recognised as the largest psychiatric institution in the English-speaking Caribbean, was reorganised and has since recorded a number of significant achievements which are consistent with the Government’s strategic mental health plan, particularly as it relates to de-institutionalisation, de-stigmatisation and decentralisation.

“To this end, the admission and discharge policy of the institution has been modified to ensure that patients are rehabilitated in the shortest possible time, and reintegrated into their communities. Thus, admission of chronic psychiatric patients for long stay is no longer accommodated,” the website states.