10 patients walk out of mental hospitals every week

Ten vulnerable patients go missing every week from mental health units in Yorkshire.

The region’s mental health trusts have recorded more than 2,300 unauthorised absences in the last five years, prompting demands for tighter security on hospital wards.

The statistic was discovered by a Tory MP who has called for change after a teenager escaped from care and committed suicide.

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Nicky Morgan, who obtained the figures under the Freedom of Information Act, said: “There are broader issues surrounding the security of mental health in-patients that need to be addressed – such as lack of staff, insufficient training, and trusts not following their own guidance.

People with acute mental health conditions have a right to receive the care and support they need in a safe and comfortable environment in which they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

Humber NHS Foundation Trust recorded more absences than any other mental health body in the region, with 631 reports of absconding – more than two a week.

Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust recorded 485 absences while South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Barnsley, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield, recorded 427.

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Ms Morgan, a vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on mental health, said she had noticed a “real difference” in the way trusts recorded statistics and the numbers were “simply too high for organisations that owe their patients a duty of care”.

“My research showed that in the past five years about 40,500 incidents of absconding occurred, ranging from a total of three reported incidents for Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Partnership Trust to 3,891 for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.

“There is significant variation across the country, so clearly some trusts are doing things very differently from others.”

Ms Morgan sought the figures following the death of 19-year-old Kirsty Brookes, who was found hanged after fleeing a psychiatric ward in Leicester in June last year.

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The case shares similarities with that of Peter Barnes, 31, who was found dead in October after going missing from a psychiatric hospital in Bradford.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating how West Yorkshire Police responded to reports of Mr Barnes’s disappearance.

Alison Cobb, senior policy and campaigns officer at mental health charity Mind, said: “Hospitals are responsible for the safety of their patients, and knowing when someone is at risk of harming themselves is a really important part of patient care.

“It’s essential that staff engage with patients and get to know them so they can judge when someone might be at risk, and take appropriate actions to support them and ensure they stay safe.”

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South West Yorkshire Partnership chief executive Steven Michael said: “There are a wide variety of reasons for unauthorised absences, such as a delay in returning to hospital from authorised leave. The absence may only be a matter of minutes or hours, but all incidents are recorded.

“We are fully committed to maintaining high quality inpatient services for people with mental health problems, and protecting them from harm. It is vital that mental health services balance safety and security with respect for an individual’s wishes. This balance does, at times, present challenges for our services.”

Frank Hanily, deputy director of operations and nursing at Bradford District Care Trust, which has recorded 153 unauthorised absences since the beginning of 2010, said a recent review had helped bring down the number.

He said: “Our action plan included strengthening security arrangements, better planning of authorised leave and issuing new guidance to staff.”

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The trust will continue to work towards reducing absences and has policies in place to ensure service user safety, he said.

A spokeswoman for Humber NHS Trust said it looked for trends to try to understand why patients go absent with a view to making adjustments to their individual care.

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