Escapes and absconding from secure psychiatric units

Discharges to prison from medium secure psychiatric units.

BACKGROUND Early findings from a national study of discharges from 32 National Health Service medium secure units revealed that nearly twice as many patients than expected were discharged back to prison. AIMS To compare the characteristics of those discharged back to prison with those discharged to the community, and consider the implications for ongoing care and risk. METHOD Prospective co...

Absconding of patients on acute psychiatric wards

Results Among compulsory admissions (846 admissions, 11.8% of all admissions) 97 admissions resulted in 148 incidents of absconding involving 72 patients. Typical absconders are younger than 35 years, have a diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia with an alcohol/drug comorbidity, are unmarried, and live on social welfare payments. Only 55.4% of absconders were considered harmful to self or others. ...

Absconding from psychiatric hospitals: a literature review Report from the Conflict and Containment Reduction Research Programme

Time of the year and absconding from a psychiatric hospital in Trinidad

Personal characteristics of patients and environmental factors at psychiatric hospitals have been identified as predictors of absconding. This study seeks to establish a relationship between time of the year and absconding. All characteristics of absconders were analysed over a two-year period using hospital records (N= 104). Public holidays and lunar phases were obtained through almanacs for e...

The profile of absconding psychiatric inpatients in Australia.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine absconding behaviour (a patient leaving the hospital without permission) in acute and rehabilitation wards of one Australian psychiatric institution to describe the characteristics of the absconding patient and these events. BACKGROUND Absconding is a significant issue in psychiatric inpatient settings, with risks that include patie...