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Irish psychiatric absconders: characteristics and outcome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Elizabeth Walsh*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, 103 Denmark Hill London SE5 8AF
Siobhán Rooney
Affiliation:
Trinity Court Dublin
Darina Sloan
Affiliation:
University College, Galway
Patricia McCauley
Affiliation:
Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham
Fiona Mulvaney
Affiliation:
St John of God Hospital Dublin
Eadbhard O'Callaghan
Affiliation:
Cluain Mhuire Child and Family Centre, Dublin
Conal Larkin
Affiliation:
St John of God Hospital, Dublin
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Absconding constitutes a significant clinical problem, leading to high levels of anxiety among staff. Ninety-five psychiatric in-patients who absconded from an Irish hospital over a period of 12 months were reviewed retrospectively. Absconders were significantly more likely to be single and compulsorily detained with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or personality disorder when compared to the remaining hospital population for that year. Common destinations included the public house and home, with most returning of their own volition within 24 hours. The rates of self-harm and violence against others are recorded.

Type
Original papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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