A PETITION has been launched to raise awareness of the hospital from which a convicted sex offender escaped last week.

Stephen Munden left Mildmay Oaks Independent hospital, in Winchfield, last Tuesday evening after climbing over a fence.

The 54-year-old registered sex offender, who was convicted of a sexual assault on a child aged under 13, handed himself in to police yesterday following a five-day major manhunt.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Now, a resident from Hook has launched a petition to raise awareness of the facility near her home.

Emma Louise Hilditch said: "I have lived here for 15 years and I didn't even know it existed."

The 35-year-old mother-of-five added: "The hospital that was housing this patient has fallen short in its duty of care and even after reports made by the CQC (Care Quality Commission) have seemingly done very little to enforce these recommendations."

A total of 162 people have so far signed the petition.

Mrs Hilditch said she was concerned for the safety of her family whilst Munden was missing, adding: "It's quite scary, especially with children. I was going round locking the windows."

Schools in north Hampshire, including the Basingstoke area, were notified of Munden’s disappearance from the psychiatric unit, and police scoured rural areas using a helicopter with infra red equipment, while officers searched on the ground to try and locate Munden.

More than 100 sightings of Munden were reported to police before he eventually handed himself in at a police station in Thames Valley at 12.45am, when he was detained and taken to a mental health facility.

An investigation has been launched following the incident. A statement from Partnership in Care (PiC), which runs the hospital, said: “With regards to the incident, PiC will conduct an inquiry into the circumstances which made it possible for the patient to leave the hospital grounds and we will take immediate steps to address any perceived security issues.

“All patients access hospital grounds when this is considered appropriate and in this case it was deemed to be so.

“Expert clinicians conduct regular and detailed risk assessments of all patients detained under the mental health act or residing in inpatient settings. This assessment determines the level of leave and the level of security patients need."

Basingstoke Gazette:

The hospital was previously ordered to make urgent improvements by the CQC, which found a "disturbing" number of violent incidents when it visited in November last year.

At the time, the hospital was run by Fairhome Care Group.

A total of 334 incidents of physical abuse or violence were recorded in seven months, including 272 incidents where staff were reported to have been assaulted, sometimes needing hospital treatment.

The watchdog previously found “serious failings” after an inspection in 2012 at the hospital, which can take up to 69 patients with mental health needs or learning disabilities.

PiC has since taken over the running of the facility with new staff and changed its name from Vista Independent Hospital to Mildmay Oaks.

Joy Chamberlain, chief executive of PiC, said: "I am keen to give our reassurance that we, along with the NHS commissioners and case managers, will take immediate action on any perceived security risk. The patient has been returned to hospital care by not at Mildmay Oaks. 


"We recognise the concerns felt by the public and we are taking immediate steps to make contact with people in the community to listen to those concerns and we hope that we can reassure them that we will be making changes that ensure improvements required in previous CQC reports are made. 


"The process of investigation into the abscond is underway. The outcome of this will be detailed, will result in action points, and will be fully shared with the CQC, commissioners and NHS England."