Two men who have been housed at the Psychiatric Hospital for more than half their lives will be discharged from that institution on Thursday.
However, Justice Randall Worrell has ordered six-month and one-year updates on the duo, 62-year-old Theo Bourne and 56-year-old John Brathwaite, as they seek to reintegrate into society.
Their discharge date was given on Wednesday in an update from Dr Ronald Chase, a psychiatrist at the Black Rock, St Michael hospital, when the matter came up in the No. 2 Supreme Court.
For more than three decades, Bourne and Brathwaite have been kept at the mental institution at His Majesty’s pleasure. They were admitted in their 20s. Bourne has been there for the past 42 years while Brathwaite has been institutionalised for 34 years.
In 2021, King’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim and his team of attorneys brought the court’s attention to their situation. The court was informed that no documents, records or information about the men could be found.
Since then, Bourne and Brathwaite have been in a quarter-way house programme to get them ready to be reintegrated into society.
On Wednesday, Dr Chase told the court that both men were “not a threat to society”.
In Bourne’s case, the doctor said, the Psychiatric Hospital’s social work department had secured suitable accommodation and a welfare grant to assist Bourne.
“Mr Bourne is expected to move into his rental accommodation on June 1. Mr Bourne is not a danger to society, and we recommend that he be discharged from the hospital. Mr Bourne will receive his mental health follow-up through the outpatient clinic at the psychiatric hospital,” Dr Chase told the court.
Asked by the judge whether he understood what had been said, Bourne, who has been the more vocal of the two men, replied, “I fully understand. That is appreciated. I respect that. Thank you, thank you.”
Dr Chase said Brathwaite was also being discharged. However, he must sign himself in as a voluntary client of the hospital as the search continues for suitable accommodation, “preferably near his niece or the hospital”.
The doctor explained that while a home had been found, there were “some issues”.
“Mr Brathwaite is not a threat to society and we do recommend that he be discharged from hospital on June 1. He has agreed to readmit himself as a voluntary client to the hospital as his relatives and hospital staff continue [efforts] to secure suitable accommodation,” the psychiatrist further stated.
Dr Chase explained that in the interim, Brathwaite would reside in the quarter-way house at the hospital.
“Dr Chase, we wish to thank you for all of the assistance that you have given us in this process. We hope that this process can be streamlined at some stage, probably by some sort of legislative force,” the judge said.
“Mr Bourne and Mr Brathwaite, we wish you all the best in the future. Thanks to counsel as well for having the matter placed before the court.”
The case will come up for an update before Justice Worrell on December 14.
