Absconding of patients detained in an english special hospital

Abstract

Absconding by Special Hospital patients frequently precipitates alarmist media reporting or internal inquiries, yet available studies indicate that absconding is rare and the risk to the public is minimal. The present study set out to examine the significance of previously identified clinical factors and specific absconder profiles in risk assessment, by comparing the frequency of key variables in a group of Special Hospital absconders and non-absconders. The results confirmed that absconding was rare with minimal risk to the public. The majority of absconding incidents occurred from trips outside the hospital. Factors predictive of a high risk of absconding were a previous history of absconding, acting-out behaviour and a previous history of assault. Clinical teams correctly identified 61% of cases as high risk prior to the absconding episode, but the false positive rate was 20%. More detailed databases with larger sample sizes and systematic data collection should assist in the development of a clinically useful ‘risk of absconding’ predictor tool.