Residents concerned about schizophrenic roaming the streets
A “very dangerous” schizophrenic is roaming the streets just two months after he was sentenced to an indefinite period in a mental hospital for an unprovoked and brutal attack on his neighbour.Shiloh Payne has been spotted on several occasions in the neighbourhood of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MWI) in Devonshire.Payne was confined to MWI rather than sent to prison in early October as he was suffering a relapse of his long-standing schizophrenia. He pleaded guilty to stabbing his neighbour and trying to hit him with a concrete block after failing to take his medication.Payne was issued an indefinite care order under the Mental Health Act with Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves called Payne “a very dangerous person when it comes to the security of members of the community” and said “there’s a real likelihood that he’s likely to commit similar offences of this sort.”Angry residents say they are now living in fear as they have seen Payne walking around without supervision. He has been spotted hanging out with other patients and sitting on the walls of nearby homes smoking cigarettes.But MWI bosses yesterday insisted their patients received “treatment, not incarceration” and were gradually reintroduced to the community “in a measured and controlled manner”.A father-of-two said he was “deeply concerned” that Payne was free to do as he pleased in the community after admitting a serious crime.He said: “There is a great deal of anxiety that he or other unsupervised patients at MWI may have the potential to do harm to residents or their children.“Having unsupervised in-patients or outpatients roaming the surrounding neighbourhoods is of the utmost concern as a five-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by one of the MWI patients in July 2010.“It is time that MWI and the BHB accepted their responsibility and implement changes that will end the ability of their patients to have such a negative impact on the surrounding neighbourhoods.”A female resident said she was “shocked” to see Payne in the Green Acres area at the end of last month.She said she was “even more disturbed” to be told by a MWI senior official that “she was not aware that Payne was out and she would be filing a report” when she reported the sighting.The female resident said: “This response from the hospital is unacceptable and shows the hospital has no control over its patients.“I cannot understand why someone convicted of such a serious crime would be allowed to leave the facility. He should be in a maximum security area with increased supervision without the ability to roam the neighbourhood.”The same woman then spotted Payne in the Devon Springs Road area “sitting on a wall having a cigarette” on Saturday and Sunday.She added: “Something needs to be done before another serious incident occurs.“I fear for my children’s safety as Shiloh and other MWI patients walk freely about the neighbourhood.“I ask that MWI immediately address this matter so that I can feel comfortable while my children play in their own yard without fearing that they could be approached or attached by an unsupervised patient this should be the right of every child.”The Supreme Court hearing on October 5 heard that Payne, 27, held Randy Thompson, 59, to the ground in Pleasantville Lane, Sandys, and stabbed him at least five times with a screwdriver. Payne then kicked Mr Thompson in the ribs and grabbed a concrete block.Another neighbour intervened and managed to stop the concrete block hitting Mr Thompson, who was treated for multiple stab wounds to the head and chest and a collapsed lung.The court heard Payne’s lack of medication caused him to suffer paranoid delusions and hallucinations and after his arrest, he told doctors he was “not comfortable with coloured-eyed people”.Payne had been admitted to MWI 11 times in the six years prior to the crime, but had not received any antipsychotic medication for three months.His lawyer Richard Horseman told the court: “I understand from his mother that he gets to a point where he hasn’t been able to be kept under control, where they can’t force him to take the medication and he thinks he doesn’t need it.”Mr Justice Greaves also said the case highlighted repeated long-standing calls for Bermuda to have a Mental Health Court so judges could work with health experts to review such cases and make recommendations.The hospital only has a small secure unit for patients who need short-term intensive care and after that they are treated on an open ward.One Bermuda Alliance MP Bob Richards, who represents Devonshire East, said it was “a very frightening situation” for families living near MWI.He said: “Payne is a menace to society. Instead of going to prison, he was sent to MWI and for him to be walking around the neighbourhood is totally unacceptable.“If something sets him off again, he could stab someone else or hit them with a concrete block and if that person dies, then what?“MWI really needs to tighten up their procedures so that individuals don’t roam around the area on their own.”A Bermuda Hospitals Board spokeswoman refused to comment on individual cases but said the fear of mental illness “often leads to discrimination that is hurtful and can damage an individual’s potential for recovery.”She said: “We would note that patients are referred to MWI for treatment, not incarceration. Individuals treated at MWI are regularly assessed through their recovery journey and, if they have been an inpatient, this journey will include a gradual reintroduction to the community in a measured and controlled manner.“Establishing a stable life in the community is the most positive outcome for all concerned as it reduces the potential for a relapse. It is better for the individual concerned, the family and the community.”The spokeswoman added that those with mental illnesses, were statistically more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of violence.She added: “We would extend a hand and ask concerned parties to come and talk to us at MWI. We certainly welcome people contacting us to talk more in depth about the issue of stigma and how recovery is planned for individuals who have experienced mental illnesses.”Concerned residents have also contacted Health Minister Zane DeSilva but he yesterday refused to comment, referring all questions to MWI.
Residents continue to contact their MP about mentally ill patients engaging in antisocial behaviour outside their homes.
Devonshire East OBA MP Bob Richards says the behaviour of patients is a “long-standing issue” for those living near the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.
Many residents fear the worst as they say patients hang around outside “causing problems” such as obscene behaviour and drug taking.
It comes after MWI patient Merrick Seaman sexually abused a five-year-old girl in July last year, and another MWI patient was seen masturbating by the roadside in broad daylight last month. The residents describe these as “completely avoidable situations”.
The residents are now calling on hospital bosses to enforce “more care and control” over patients who they claim “do what they want”.
But Bermuda Hospitals Board says residents should be more welcoming and see MWI as a “temporary home” to patients.
Mr Richards said constituents who live all around the perimeter of the MWI site had raised concerns.
Most of their complaints focus on the outpatients who are dropped off and picked up from MWI’s side entrance by bus.
Mr Richards said: “Constituents continue to bring this up and elderly residents are particularly concerned for the safety.
“Outpatients just wander around when they are supposed to be picked up and dropped off at certain times. It doesn’t appear they are properly supervised outside the building.
“Residents just didn’t sign up for this type of behaviour and they rightfully expect to feel safe in their own homes”.
Mr Richards is now calling for “better supervision and security” when patients leave the building. He would like to see patients walked into the building when they are dropped off and a headcount carried out to ensure patients get back on the bus.
A man, who lives nearby, said: “On numerous occasions, the patients can be seen walking to and from the hospital begging for money, walking through areas clearly marked private property, defecating and urinating in people’s yards, and engaging in other antisocial behaviours.”
A mother-of-three said: “My kids are living in fear, especially my 11-year-old daughter who has read the newspaper and is aware of the violent nature of some of the MWI patients.
“She doesn’t even want to walk to the car by herself because she is afraid of being approached by one of the patients.”
In recent weeks residents have voiced their concerns directly to the Ministry of Health and bosses at the Bermuda Hospitals Board, but claim not to have received a satisfactory response.
A BHB spokeswoman said they were sensitive to the fact that they were providing services in a residential area.
She said: “We do not encourage service users accessing outpatient services to remain in the area before or after their treatment. If they are resident at MWI, then this area is their temporary home.
“If there were concerns about safety for a service user who needed to go to an alternate location, MWI would oversee travel arrangements, but most people accessing MWI services are not dangerous to themselves or others.
“We would be happy to discuss our services with our neighbours. However, if ever an individual is causing a concern to a neighbour, we encourage them to contact the police.”
Anyone with concerns about MWI patients can contact the management team at 236-3770.
