Escapee got a lift to train station with Park visitor
9PM: Cuts to security guards at The Park mental health facility have come under fire as the second patient in a month walked out of the facility.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg admitted the Mental Health Act could be changed after Kostas Tokatlidis, 44, went missing from the Wolston Park facility.
The West Moreton Hospital and Health Board cut security guard staffing from three to two per shift in a bid to reel in a $17 million budget deficit earlier this year.
Bundamba MP Jo-Ann Miller slammed the cuts.
She said community safety, rather than the bottom line, should be the focus of any government.
"People have a right to be safe, feel safe, in their homes, at the local shop or on public transport," she said.
"If the Minister is considering legislative change he needs to consult with our local community as escapees have to travel through immediate suburbs closest to The Park facility before they can get anywhere else."
Tokatlidis, who is known to police, was on unsupervised leave within The Park's grounds when he got a lift to Redbank train station on Tuesday afternoon from a woman visiting another patient at the facility.
He was found by police in Fortitude Valley on Tuesday afternoon.
Health officials described Tokatlidis as "low risk" and said he had been at the facility for a number of years.
Last month a patient from The Park left the facility to be found in Victoria two days later.
Mr Springborg said he was "more than concerned" with current process and will discuss the security staffing issues with the West Moreton Health Board and chief executive.
He said Tokatlidis had been assessed by a psychiatrist as low risk and was in the secure unit at the facility.
A spokeswoman for Mr Springborg said the West Moreton Hospital and Health Service had cancelled all unescorted leave at the facility until investigations were completed.
Queensland Police Acting Chief Superintendent Mick Niland said Tokatlidis did not threaten the woman during the escape.
"He had a leave of absence that day and was to be in the grounds of the health facility and we understand a female person who was visiting another patient happened by him and he received a lift," he said.
3PM: POLICE have found 44-year-old Kostas Tokatlidis who went missing from The Park mental health facility yesterday afternoon.
He was found in Fortitude Valley this afternoon.
12PM: Police are searching for a 44-year-old man who escaped from The Park mental health facility at Wolston Park
yesterday afternoon.
Kostas Tokatlidis was last seen at Redbank Plains Shopping Centre at 4.30pm yesterday afternoon.
He has been described by West Moreton health chief executive Lesley Dwyer as "low risk".
"We can advise the patient is considered a low risk to the public, and has been accessing unescorted leave for six months as part of his treatment plan," she said.
Police are urging the public not to approach Tokatlidis and if seen to contact police or call triple zero immediately.
Police hold concerns for his welfare as he suffers from a medical condition.
He is described as being of Caucasian appearance with a tanned complexion, 184cms tall with a heavy build, black hair and brown eyes and a full beard.
At the time of his disappearance he was wearing a black singlet, black trousers and gold chains.
10AM: A patient has escaped from The Park mental health facility, the second in a month to leave the Wolston Park Rd centre.
The patient disappeared yesterday afternoon, with the circumstances of the escape yet to be confirmed.
A spokeswoman from Health Minister Lawrence Springborg's office said the patient was believed to be a low risk to the public.
Last month Justin Grant, 29, absconded while on unsupervised leave and was later located in near Melbourne.
The latest incident comes as West Moreton health and Hospital Board look to cut security levels at the facility.
