CAMH disappearance spurs safety concerns
Mentally ill man vanishes for second time this year
That a mentally ill man could disappear while under a Toronto facility’s care for the second time in as many months is a symptom of the country’s ailing mental health care system, a Toronto MP says.
George May, 51, vanished outside the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Queen West facility at around 5 p.m. Monday, spurring a police search and public safety scare. He returned Tuesday morning.
In January May escaped from a Toronto-area hospital and was found by police three days later.
MP Olivia Chow said the events point to a mental health care system in need of repair.
“The entire system is very fragmented, especially dealing with people that have traces of violence, either to themselves or to others,” Chow said. “Really, there hasn’t been enough focus on dealing with people who have mental illness and what happens when they pose a threat to society.” May was charged with second-degree murder in the 2001 choking of Beverly Sims, 41, at an east Toronto home for psychiatric outpatients. He was found not criminally responsible on account of mental illness. He was placed at the province’s only maximum-security forensic hospital, the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene. The forensic unit accommodates mental health patients who have come in conflict with the law. In 2007, May successfully applied to the Ontario Review Board for a transfer to CAMH’S 165-bed forensic unit housing minimum- and medium-security patients. Sandy Simpson, clinical director of the CAMH law and mental health program, said the facility, while secure, focuses on patient treatment, rehabilitation and community reintegration. Patients are permitted to leave on escorted outings, but “most of them would have very little to no access to the community,” Simpson said. It remains unclear how May ended up on the streets for the second time this year, and whether he had permission to enter the community. CAMH staff refused to comment on the matter. A patient would be reassessed by CAMH staff following an incident such as May’s disappearance, said spokesman Michael Torres, adding the facility must balance the need for security and its role as a health care provider. “We’re not a prison,” Torres said. “Our role is not to lock people up so that they can’t access the community. “Our role is to help them get better so they can reintegrate.” May’s second disappearance sheds light on the challenges faced by police in managing mental health patients when they escape from care. People charged with violent offences often disappear from mental health facilities but police are powerless to stop it, said Const. Wendy Drummond. “Is this a chronic issue? Yes,” Drummond said. “From a public safety standpoint, it’s a concern for us. Luckily, there was no confrontation (with May) . . . but the potential is always there.” Chow called for a more integrated, better-funded system for people with mental health issues to improve care and prevent risk. “It’s a huge problem,” she said. “Eventually these folks are going to be out . . . so it’s critically important that there are adequate services. We spend a huge amount of money, but nowhere near enough in dealing with mental health issues.”