FURTHER QUESTIONS have been posed over security at Perth hospitals after a second patient went missing from a psychiatric unit.
Just a week after Tayside Police mounted an ultimately tragic search for an outpatient, Paul Osbourne was reported missing from Murray Royal Hospital on Monday.
The 35-year-old was traced safe and well in the early hours of this morning but the incident has only served to strengthen calls for an independent review.
One local councillor said they now had “grave concerns” over the day-to-day management of the facility.
Mr Osbourne’s disappearance followed that of out-patient Doreen MacIntyre from the same facility last Tuesday.
The 55-year-old from Kirkmichael was last seen in the grounds of Murray Royal at around 4pm.
An initial search was carried out in the grounds of the hospital, but it was not until two days later that police searching for Ms MacIntyre found a body at the foot of Kinnoull Hill.
This morning, police confirmed that the body was that of Ms MacIntyre.
In the wake of the second disappearance, Heather Stewart, Conservative councillor for the Perth City Centre ward, said reassessing the situation should be a “top priority”.
Ms Stewart said: “It beggars belief that, once again, the hospital security appears to be inadequate when vulnerable individuals are left to their own devices.
“The new improved facility and environment of the hospital can be disorientating for patients and visitors alike.
“Lessons must be learned from these incidents and I hope that my call for an independent review is taken seriously by NHS Tayside.
“It is imperative that an institution of this nature has the confidence of the community, patients and the general public.”
Ms Stewart added: “I, as a locally elected representative, now have grave concerns about the day-to-day management of the facility. I am demanding that NHS Tayside get a grip of the situation immediately”.
NHS Tayside say it was looking into the incident relating to Ms MacIntyre.