After four dangerous patients run away, immediate measures to secure psychiatric units
Four security officers from a specialized company will now monitor the site day and night. Gerard-Marchant hospital Toulouse, whose gate on the exit side remains closed and subject to control. An “advanced admissions office” post has also been set up “for the control of patient discharge documents”. These concrete and immediate measures were announced this Thursday by the regional health agency, after the episode of the successive runaways of three patients from the establishment, with a dangerous profile and declared criminally irresponsible. The first patient, Jérémy Rimbaud alias “the cannibal of the Pyrenees”, had violently attacked a septuagenarian before being caught.
As for the psychiatric unit of the CHU, where a fourth patient gave way to caregivers, its emergency exits will be redesigned and a secure outdoor space created.
The patients were reassessed, their care too
Other decisions, more medical, were also unveiled on Thursday after a dialogue meeting with representatives of the sector, such as the reinforcement of the staff on duty on weekends. During the week, the clinical situation of all Marchant Hospital patients admitted following a decision concluding that they were not criminally responsible was “reassessed” and their management – the sectors of the 44 ha site where they can go freely particular – has been adapted. The same process will concern patients in the psychiatric unit of the CHU.
Finally, the ARS indicates that in addition to the administrative investigation already underway, the famous and feared General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) has been mandated for an inspection mission, the recommendations of which will be implemented quickly.