Nicky Morgan’s FOI request follows tragic death of teenager
By Ian Birch
A Leicestershire MP has prompted a debate in parliament over the link between absconding from mental health wards and suicide, following the tragic death of a local teenager - 19 year old Kirsty Brooks.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Nicky Morgan MP found that 40,000 patients had absconded from NHS wards in a 5 year period. In her constituency, Loughborough, there were 386 cases. At one trust, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, the figure was an alarming 3,891.
A 2010 national inquiry found that between 1997 and 2006, absconders accounted for 25 per cent of all inpatient suicides and 38 per cent of suicides away from hospital wards. This is a deeply worrying set of statistics and one which needs urgently addressing.
Ms Morgan told the Commons: “If we don't do that, we will be storing up huge trouble for the country, and there will be more tragic deaths of patients like Kirsty, which could perhaps have been prevented."
She added: “The information I obtained is, I hope, a good start, but the NHS should insist that trusts use one set of definitions so that numbers can be properly compared. Trusts with low incidences of absconding could share their experiences with those whose absconding rate is very much higher."
Recent NHS figures show there is a suicide in England every 2 hours. Kirsty was one of 21 mental health inpatients last year who absconded and took their own lives.
Kirsty’s father, Glyn, told This is Leicestershire: “I am very pleased this matter has been raised. It makes me and my family feel that the passing of Kirsty has not been in vain. It is still a very emotive issue for us. I still feel I have let Kirsty down to some point – we trusted the system.
"All we can hope is that other people will benefit from lessons learnt and changes made which are not just words. Mental health should be at the forefront of people's minds."
For further information about suicide prevention please see the Rethink link below.
