Andoh B
Law Department, Southampton Institute of Higher Education, Hampshire.
Med Sci Law. 1994 Apr;34(2):130-6. doi: 10.1177/002580249403400208.
Despite several studies of absconding from mental hospitals, what the hospitals and the police do following a patient absconding from a mental hospital has been largely ignored. This article fills that gap. It looks at the procedure followed by three conventional mental hospitals in south-east England and the procedure followed by the three Police Forces in those hospitals' catchment areas. It is based on twelve months of fieldwork, during which period the policy files of all the hospitals were studied and, among other things, interviews were carried out with a cross-section of both the hospitals' staff and police officers. The crucial factors determining the type of action taken by the hospitals or the police were found to be whether the matter was one of grave concern and whether the absconder was a compulsory patient. Certain aspects of the procedure were found to be unsatisfactory and suggestions for improving them are made.
尽管已有多项关于精神病院患者逃跑的研究，但对于患者从精神病院逃跑后医院和警方的后续行动，却在很大程度上被忽视了。本文填补了这一空白。它考察了英格兰东南部三家传统精神病院所遵循的程序，以及这些医院所在地区的三支警察部队所遵循的程序。本文基于为期十二个月的实地调查，在此期间研究了所有医院的政策文件，此外，还对医院工作人员和警察进行了广泛的访谈。结果发现，决定医院或警方采取何种行动的关键因素在于该事件是否严重以及逃跑者是否为强制收治患者。研究发现该程序的某些方面不尽人意，并提出了改进建议。
