Christopher Ryan

“The Consultant [name redacted] had signed the agreed escorted leave form on the basis that [name redacted] would be accompanied 1:1 with a nurse. The purpose of the leave was therapeutic, to enable [name redacted] to access the community in a supported manner. Evidence was before the court that the leave was only to the adjacent car park, to facilitate a smoking break, and 1 member of staff accompanied up to 6 patients. The Trust's own Root Cause Analysis report confirms that the practise was at this time for 1 staff”

“The car park is entirely unsecure and open to the road. Evidence given in court was that the hospital site is non-smoking, but the evidence was unclear whether the car park was considered to be part of the hospital site or separate.”

“My concern is that there has been a tolerated blurring of the boundaries between the intentions of escorted leave for individuals under a MHA section, and the ward staff's ability to facilitate this in a meaningful and therapeutic way to benefit the patients, and that the clinical staff were not aware of this.”