The family of a vulnerable Scot with severe mental health issues have questioned how he was able to walk out of a ward at Hairmyres Hospital where he is currently sectioned. Craig Graeme Hannah, who has Bipolar Schizoaffective Disorder, sparked an urgent police search after 'absconding' from Ward 19 at midday on Tuesday, July 2.
The 35-year-old, who is on a 28 day hold, was found by police around 10 hours later in the Darnley area of Glasgow, after being spotted getting into a taxi at East Kilbride train station. His worried mum Andrea McClintock and her partner John Cairney, from Larkhall, are now demanding hospital chiefs launch an investigation into the full circumstances of Craig’s disappearance.
They’ve also raised concerns about the lack of security on the ward after hearing ‘conflicting’ accounts of what happened. John, 58, said: “Somebody needs to be held accountable for this because the next person who goes missing from there might not be so lucky.
“Craig was sectioned on Thursday last week. We’ve been trying to get him in for the last two months because he’s so unwell. When we went up to see him on Sunday, they wouldn’t let him go outside for a cigarette with us because he wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital.
“But then we got a phone call at 2.10pm on Tuesday saying he had absconded from ward 19. His room is right in front of the nurses station and at that ward, you need to be buzzed in and out of the door.
“They initially told us that no one had seen him leaving and they didn’t know how he had got out. But now they’re saying he pushed past the nurses and they couldn’t stop him because there’s no security on the ward. The story keeps changing.
“We asked where the security was on the ward and they said it was the nurses because it’s not a locked unit. People can just wander out - so what’s the point in them being there?
“It’s just madness. Somebody really has to look into this. Is it going to keep happening? How many times does it have to happen before they take notice and make changes?
“People put their family in there thinking they’re going to be safe only to get a phone call saying they’ve run away? Then you’re sitting worrying all day and night.
“I can understand if they’re understaffed with everything that’s going on but to be honest, these places shouldn’t be understaffed. We want a full investigation to take place.
“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened to a member of my family. We got Craig back but the last one lost his life after walking out in front of a train. He was only a young boy.”
Mum-of-two Andrea, 55, added: “He’s so vulnerable and thinks everyone is his friend but ends up getting a doing. He has been attacked and stabbed several times over the years.
“Craig ended up getting sectioned on his 16th birthday for over a year after being stabbed five times. He’s been struggling ever since but over the last few weeks, he’s gotten worse and worse.
“He has Bipolar Schizoaffective Disorder and he’s been hearing voices. He tells me he’s speaking to my mum and dad who have been dead for 30 odd years.
“He’s been picking rubbish up off the street and taking it into his house because he thinks it’s worth millions.
“He’s only been out of the Leverndale Hospital since the start of the year. He went missing for two days last week and was found walking around in his bare feet. They’re covered in blisters.
“He had no idea where he was and told me he’d been on holiday in Little Italy. I thought him being sectioned for 28 days would keep him safe. But now this has happened.”
Craig’s disappearance follows the tragic case of David Timlin, 51, who walked in front of a train less than an hour after leaving the same ward in December 2021.
Paula MacLeod, General Manager Mental Health & Learning Disabilities, said: “We are sorry this patient’s family have concerns and we would encourage them to speak to Senior Charge Nurse or Service Manager for the ward, or alternatively our Patient Affairs team.”
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