Unescorted day passes have been temporarily suspended at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital at Colony Farm after two patients walked away from the facility last week.
Dr. Johann Brink, director of clinical services at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, said that over the next few weeks, the facility will be conducting an internal review of its procedures concerning unescorted trips for patients.
"What we decided to do is cancel [the passes]," he said. "We have suspended all unescorted access to the community until this internal review has been conducted and completed."
He added that a panel of experts from outside the hospital will conduct a more in-depth external review, which he said will likely take several months.
Last week, two men - David Fomradas and Gregory Owen Schleen - walked away from the facility in separate incidents. Police are warning the public that both men, who are now wanted on Canada-wide warrants for being unlawfully at large, have mental disorders and should not be approached.
Brink said he is confident facility staff followed proper protocols and procedures when dealing with the men.
And he said it is important to note that the hospital's mandate is to prepare its patients for re-integration in the community.
"We are trying to predict human behaviours," he said. "It is not easy. We use all the information we can. But we cannot do, by law, is to simply lock people up and keep them in the hospital. Sooner or later, we have to do our job and our mandate to see how we manage this community re-integration."
On Friday, members of the Kwikwetlem First Nation said the number of unauthorized absences being reported at the neighbouring hospital has them concerned for their safety.
"We want to have it set straight that we aren't going to take this matter lightly anymore," said Fred Hulbert, a Kwikwetlem council member. "It is for the safety and protection of our community."
In a press release, the Kwikwetlem stated that in the case of Fomradas, it was not warned until two days after he had left the facility that an escape had taken place.
Hulbert added that the nation would like the hospital to contact it directly when escapes and unauthorized absences occur at Colony Farm.
"We must be informed," he said. "There are people in there who are very, very dangerous."
But Brink said the Kwikwetlem First Nation and the broader community should not be concerned about patients on unescorted day passes. Numerous procedures are in place to assess a patient's stability before they leave the facility and privileges are added over time, he said.
"I would say to them that they don't have anything to worry about," he said. "I would say the same to the public... obviously we wouldn't do that if we felt the patient is still a danger to the community."
In 2009, Fomradas carjacked a vehicle with actor Carly Pope inside and crashed into a building in to the CBC building in downtown Vancouver.
The B.C. Review Board found him not criminally responsible for a host of charges related to the incident, including car theft, two counts of aggravated assault, dangerous driving, assault with a weapon and mischief. During a 2010 decision the board said that Fomradas posed a risk to the public but was mentally stable as long as he adhered to his medication regime.
He is described as a Caucasian man with fair complexion who is 5'11" tall and weighs 161 lb.; the 34-year-old has a medium build, brown hair with stubble and blue eyes.
Schleen is described as a Caucasian man, 6'4" tall and weighing about 250 lb.; the 49-year-old has blond hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of either man is asked to call police immediately.
