New electronic tracking system

We have introduced a patient monitoring device to track patients with mental health problems who have been granted leave from our medium secure services.

The electronic tracking system involves patients wearing a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) device which provides information on their movements and whereabouts when they are outside the secure perimeter of the unit. The device is attached to the patient using a secure ankle bracelet, and can be used to trace their movements if they are on leave from hospital.

35 devices are now being used within SLaM, the first time that such a system has been introduced within NHS mental health services.

In the following short film, you can find out more about how the process of granting leave from MSUs works and about the new tracking system.

Further information
Medium Secure Units (MSUs) provide hospital care for people with mental health problems, many of whom have committed a criminal offence.

Granting leave for patients cared for within a MSU environment is an essential part of the therapeutic process of care and recovery. Patients detained in hospital are granted leave when the doctors and nurses responsible for their care have assessed that they are responding well to treatment. The use of the tracking system is an additional safeguard which complements the clinical assessment tools and protocols we have in place to manage the process of leave as safely and effectively as possible.

While most episodes of leave pass without incident, there are occasions when a patient does not return to hospital at the appointed time. If a patient is absent from hospital without permission and not receiving treatment for a long period of time, then he or she may relapse and become unwell again. As well as being a risk to the individual patient, this is an issue of understandable public concern. The use of the tracking system will enable us to identify the patient's whereabouts in these circumstances and re-establish contact quickly and effectively.