Role, Responsibilities and Provincial Structure

Division's Role

The Mental Health Services Division's primary role is to provide central leadership and accountability for the effective, efficient and equitable delivery of all formal mental health services in the province.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Division are to:

• Assess the need of the New Brunswick population for mental health services.
• Define priorities for service development and implementation in accordance with the provincial mental health policy.
• Define and ensure implementation of core programs and service standards.
• Define and monitor expected outcomes for all levels of service.
• Ensure the full implementation of the requirements of the Mental Health Act and the Mental Health Services Act.
• Allocate financial and human resources and monitor their use.
• Directly manage the Community Mental Health Centres and ensure the effective delivery of purchase of service contracts with hospital corporations for the in-patient services (psychiatric units and hospitals)
• Provide leadership to provincial education/prevention/promotion initiatives for mental health.
• Ensure partnerships with community groups and non-government organizations through the purchase of service contracts to support consumers and families.

Provincial Structure

The division is headed by an Assistant Deputy Minister who reports to the Deputy Minister of Health and Wellness and is a member of the Department's senior management team. A Mental Health Services Advisory Committee, established through legislation, provides advice to the Minister of Health and Wellness on a broad spectrum of issues relating to mental health services.

The ADM for Mental Health Services is supported by a small management team responsible for the following functions:

• Management of Operations
• Quality Management and Executive Support
• Acute Programs
• Children and Adolescent Programs
• Adult Long Term Programs

Services are provided through four distinct operational sectors:

• the Community Mental Health Centre which directly reports to the division,
• the psychiatric units,
• the psychiatric hospitals and
• funding to non-profit organizations, and consumer and family groups with a primary mandate of serving people with mental health issues.

Both the psychiatric units and the psychiatric hospitals formally report to Regional Hospital Corporations, but are funded by the division through purchase of service contracts.