FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s francophone health network is apologizing for the way it used restraints and seclusion rooms at an adult psychiatric facility in the province’s north.
Sébastien Lagacé, associate vice-president of mental health and addiction at Vitalité Health Network, says the situation at the Restigouche Hospital Centre was not acceptable and officials are working with the ombudswoman to make changes.
His comments follow a scathing report by the ombudswoman — Marie-France Pelletier — that said some patients at the hospital were restrained for hours, sometimes in their own urine and feces.
It also included accounts of desperate patients kept in seclusion rooms unable to contact health staff.
Lagacé called the issue systemic, adding that patients at Restigouche hospital reported the problems because the ombudswoman’s phone number was available on posters in the facility.
He says the health network accepts Pelletier’s recommendations, which include that hospitals keep more detailed records on the use of restraints and seclusion rooms.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2025.
