An investigation into the death of a psychiatric patient who went missing last Monday while in the care of two nurses is expected to examine whether the patient's escort team was sufficiently qualified to carry out the task.
The body of the patient, a man in his early 40s from the Creeslough area of Co Donegal, was found under a bridge in the River Shannon close to Roosky, Co Roscommon, on Thursday night.
The body has been taken to University College Hospital, Galway, and a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out today, a Garda spokesman said.
The Minister of State with responsibility for mental health services, Mr Tim O'Malley, has ordered a report into the circumstances of the death from the Inspector of Mental Hospitals, Dr Dermot Walsh.
The chairman of the North Western Health Board, Cllr Seán McGowan, expressed deep concern over the death and has also asked for a separate report from the health board.
A student nurse and a recently qualified staff nurse were escorting the patient from Dublin to the psychiatric unit of Letterkenny General Hospital. He disappeared after the group stopped for a meal in Roosky.
The two nurses and the patient stopped at the Weir Lodge bar and restaurant, just outside the town, for a break on Monday evening.
The nursing staff were alerted to his disappearance at around 7.30 p.m. when the patient did not return from a toilet break.
The transportation of psychiatric patients is a common occurrence, with up to 9,000 individuals in care at any one time. It is believed that the last time a similar tragedy occurred was almost 30 years ago.
The man had been involuntarily detained for several weeks at the unit in Letterkenny, according to sources.
The Department of Health said yesterday there were no official guidelines on the transportation of psychiatric patients and that it was a matter for health board officials to decide, based on the individual circumstances of the patient.
The general secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses' Association, Mr Des Kavanagh, said it was unusual that a student nurse should be used on such a trip, but said he was confident that management made a sound decision based on the information available.
Mr Kavanagh said staff did not use restraints on patients who were being transported but conceded that this approach carried risks.
"Nurses seek to minimise those risks. This tragedy is the regrettable exception to the norm, but best practice requires that we continue the current practice of seeking safety while ensuring respect and dignity for the person," Mr Kavanagh said.
The health board chairman, Mr McGowan, who lives just fives miles away from where the body was discovered, said he had asked the board's assistant chief executive officer to carry out an investigation.
Mr O'Malley has also asked Dr Walsh to report back to the Department on the death of the patients as "a matter or urgency".
Mr McGowan said it was a traumatic time for the family and everyone involved in the care of the individual. Every possible support will be offered to help them come to terms with the tragedy, the health board said in a statement.
