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Media > Absent without Leave / Absconded

Freedom of Information request Absent without Leave / Absconded

Response published: 16 September 2026
Media | Serious Incidents

FOI Request

Hi all, Hope you are well. I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am a journalist at the Sunday Times. For each calendar year from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request, please provide: 1. The number of recorded incidents in which a patient was absent without leave, absconded, or otherwise left the Trust's care without authorisation. Please break this down by year and, where the figure exceeds five, by hospital site. 2. The number of patients who died within 30 days of such an incident, broken down by year. 3. Of those deaths, the number where the patient was detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 at the time of the incident. If any part of this request is likely to exceed the appropriate cost limit under section 12, please advise me under your section 16 duty which elements could be provided within the limit, and I will refine accordingly. I would ask that you do not refuse the request in its entirety on cost grounds without first contacting me. I understand this information is likely to be held on the Trust's incident reporting system (Datix or its successor), and in Learning from Deaths reporting to the Board. Please provide the response in machine-readable form (CSV or Excel) where practicable. I look forward to your response within 20 working days. Yours faithfully,

FOI Response

Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 264-2026

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.

You asked:

For each calendar year from 1 January 2019 to the date of this request, please provide:

1. The number of recorded incidents in which a patient was absent without leave, absconded, or otherwise left the Trust’s care without authorisation. Please break this down by year and, where the figure exceeds five, by hospital site.

Our response:

The figures below represent incidents recorded by the Trust under AWOL (Absent Without Leave), Absconding and Ran From Escort incident categories.
Calendar Years
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Berkeley House (LD inpatients) <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 6 <5 12
Charlton Lane Hospital <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 5 8 28
Robert Maxwell s136 Suite <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 9
Montpellier Low Secure Unit <5 <5 <5 5 <5 5 7 29
Stonebow Unit, Hereford* 77 18 — — — — — 95
Wotton Lawn Hospital ** 176 147 175 285 279 231 282 1575
Other MH Inpatient / Residential e.g. MH rehab units 16 5 11 12 15 12 19 90
Acute / General Hospital <5 5 5 <5 6 7 8 36
Community Hospitals <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 8
Other Community MH e.g. absent from own/supported accommodation while under GHC community care 7 <5 16 7 <5 5 <5 39
Total AWOL/Absconding/Ran from Escort incidents 286 182 214 318 317 274 330 1921

Please note:

*The Stonebow Unit transferred to Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2020. Figures for 2020 relate only to the period prior to transfer.

** The Trust continues to work closely with our system partners, including Gloucestershire Constabulary and LA Safeguarding Team in this area.

You asked:

2. The number of patients who died within 30 days of such an incident, broken down by year.

Our response:

No patients died within 30 days of such an incident.

You asked:

3. Of those deaths, the number where the patient was detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 at the time of the incident.

Our response:

Not applicable.

Next steps:

Should you have any queries in relation to our response, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your request and wish to ask us to review our response, you should write to:

Louise Moss
Head of Legal Services / Associate Director of Corporate Governance
c/o Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park
Brockworth, GL3 4AW
E-mail: louise.moss20@nhs.net

If you are not content with the outcome of any review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for further advice/guidance. Generally, the ICO will not consider your case unless you have exhausted your enquiries with the Trust which should include considering the use of the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.