10th July 2006 South Wales Argus Absconders from Llanarth Court Just how good are these so called Risk assessments?

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'Our aim is to rehabilitate'
By Andy Rutherford South Wales Argus

CHALLENGES: Llanarth Court Hospital and its executive director, Barrie Crosbie
THE absconding of two patients from Llanarth Court Hospital last week came at a delicate time for owners Partnerships In Care.

Faced with fierce opposition to proposals to extend its specialised mental health services into a second facility in Gwent Beechwood House at Goytre the company realises the disappearance of Leanne Rose and Denniella Cannon while on an unsupervised walk in the hospital grounds is likely to heighten fears and harden resistance among villagers.

The pair, on hospital orders following convictions for wounding and assault respectively, were found after little more than 24 hours.

Procedures and assessments are being reviewed. For hospital bosses, however, the controversy has lasted, and will last, much longer. Mental illness, whatever the level of seriousness, sadly retains much of its taboo status. A link to crime ratchets up the fear factor.

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Llanarth Court specialises in the treatment of men and women with mental illness deemed severe enough for them to be detained under the Mental Health Act. This is largely because they are assessed as posing a risk to themselves, their families or carers.

Patients mainly come from South Wales, the South West of England. and the Midlands. The average length of stay per patient, as at December 31, 2005, was 35 months.

"The majority have posed a risk to themselves rather than others, and one-third of patients have no criminal history at all," said director of operations Jill Howard.

"While people do come to Llanarth Court as a result of orders made through the criminal justice system, many come from other mental health facilities that cannot meet their needs.

"For instance, we may take people from Maindiff Court (a mental health hospital near Abergavenny) because they cannot treat them there.

"It can be necessary to detain someone for a time to aggressively treat mental illness, but it must be stressed this is treatment rather than punishment. It is easy for people, when crime is involved, to see that rather than the illness behind it."

The hospital currently has 91 patients, with separate wards for men and women.

Of its 103 beds, 81 are classed as medium secure and 18 low secure, with four beds in an open unit. The ultimate aim is to move patients, with the aid of continuous risk assessment, through some or all of these stages, from wherever they enter the system.

"We try to rehabilitate patients to a point where they are able to get on with their lives. Risk assessment is a dynamic process with that end in mind," said medical director Dr Phil Huckle.

Executive director Barrie Crosbie said the hospital works closely with the NHS and social services.

"People do not come here and get forgotten about. We work closely with the NHS and local authorities, and when a patient is discharged, perhaps back to their catchment hospital when the level of risk has come down, we involve everyone in that decision."

Mr Crosbie said Rose and Cannon are not the first patients to abscond since Llanarth Court opened in 1992, "but no-one has been injured and there has been no damage to property," he said.

11:53am Monday 10th July 2006