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Predicting time to recall in patients conditionally released from a secure forensic hospital: A survival analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Amelia Jewell
Affiliation:
aDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK bSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Christopher Cocks
Affiliation:
aDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK cJustice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Alexis E. Cullen
Affiliation:
dDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
Tom Fahy
Affiliation:
aDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK bSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Kimberlie Dean*
Affiliation:
cJustice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network, Sydney, NSW, Australia eSchool of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
*
*Corresponding author at: School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. E-mail address: k.dean@unsw.edu.au (K. Dean).

Abstract

Background

The recall of conditionally discharged forensic patients in England is a formal order from the Ministry of Justice under the Mental Health Act (1983) which has the power to revoke conditional release and direct readmission to hospital. Recall has significant implications for the individual and for hospital services, but despite this, little is known about predictors of recall for forensic patients.

Methods

We examined the rate of recall for 101 patients conditionally discharged from medium secure forensic inpatient services between 2007 and 2013. Demographic, clinical, and forensic factors were examined as possible predictors of time to recall using Cox regression survival techniques.

Results

Conditionally discharged patients were followed for an average of 811 days, during which 45 (44.5%) were recalled to hospital. Younger age (HR 1.89; 95% CI 1.02–3.49; p = 0.04), non-white ethnicity (HR 3.44; 95% CI 1.45–8.13), substance abuse history (HR 2.52; 95% CI 1.17–5.43), early violence (HR 1.90; 95% CI 1.03–3.50), early childhood maladjustment (HR 1.92; 95% CI 1.01–3.68), treatment with a depot medication (HR 2.17; 95% CI 1.14–4.11), being known to mental health services (HR 3.44; 95% CI 1.06–11.16), and a psychiatric admission prior to the index admission (HR 2.44; 95% CI 1.08–5.52) were significantly associated with a shorter time to recall. Treatment with clozapine reduced the risk of recall to hospital (HR 0.40; 95% CI 0.20–0.79).

Conclusions

Time to recall can be predicted by a range of factors that are readily available to clinical teams. Further research is required to determine if targeted interventions can modify the likelihood or time to recall for conditionally released forensic patients.

Information

Type
Original articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 European Psychiatric Association
Figure 0

Table 1 Examined predictors of recall.

Note: All reports were obtained as close as possible to the date of conditional discharge unless otherwise stated. ETOH: Ethyl Alcohol; THC: Tetrahydrocannabinol; HCR-20: Historical Clinical Risk-20; PCL-R: Psychopathic Checklist Revised.
Figure 1

Fig. 1 Average survival curve for the full sample (n = 101).

Figure 2

Table 2 Cox regression survival analysis examining demographic, clinical, and forensic predictors of recall.

Note: n: subgroup sample size; CI: Confidence Interval; THC: Tetrahydrocannabinol; ETOH: Ethyl Alcohol; Rx: prescription; H: Historical subscale of the HCR-20 violence risk assessment. P values in bold represent a significance of p
Figure 3

Table 3 Forward stepwise multivariable cox regression analysis examining significant univariable predictors of recall.

Note: HR: Hazard Ratio; CI: Confidence Interval; H: Historical subscale of the HCR-20 violence risk assessment. Characters in bold represent a significance of p
Figure 4

Fig. 2 Kaplan-Meir survival curves of significant independent predictors of time to recall.

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