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Patients Leaving Hospital Without the Knowledge or Permission of Staff–Absconding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

J. Falkowski ,
V. Watts ,
W. Falkowski  and
T. Dean
J. Falkowski*
Affiliation:
Springfield (University Designated) Hospital, London SW17 7DJ
V. Watts
Affiliation:
Springfield (University Designated) Hospital, London SW17 7DJ
W. Falkowski
Affiliation:
Springfield (University Designated) Hospital, London SW17 7DJ
T. Dean
Affiliation:
Springfield (University Designated) Hospital, London SW17 7DJ
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

A series of 100 consecutive psychiatric in-patients who absconded from a psychiatric hospital a total of 231 times over ten months was studied. The reasons given for absconding, duration of absence, and mode of return are described. The legal status and ethnic origins of absconders differed significantly from those of the base hospital population.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 156 , Issue 4 , April 1990 , pp. 488 - 490
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1990 

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References

Antebi, R. (1967) Some characteristics of mental hospital absconders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 1087–1090.Google Scholar
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Tomison, A. R. (1989) Characteristics of psychiatric hospital absconders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 368–371.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1978) Mental Disorders: Glossary and Guide to their Classification in Accordance with the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD–9). Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
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