NSW government urgently orders independent team to oversee troubled Cumberland Hospital after three patients escape facility

The NSW government has urgently ordered an independent team to oversee the management of Cumberland Hospital, after several patients escaped, leading to three people dying in separate incidents. Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson said the immediate intervention of the hospital was important after three patients absconded from the facility in the span of a few weeks. From Wednesday, an independent team of experts will oversee the hospital’s management, bolstering a review into the hospital, which was ordered last week. Cumberland Hospital is set to permanently close at the end of 2026 when the Westmead Integrated Mental Health Complex opens. The $580m centre is under construction and will open its doors by the end of 2027. Despite the facility’s closure, Ms Jackson said the oversight team would examine patient care, security protocols and the management of abscondments.. “Community safety is a top priority for our government and I am concerned that recent incidents at Cumberland Hospital undermine the sense of safety and security people rightly expect in the management of our mental health system,” Ms Jackson said. “A formal review into these recent incidents is underway, but because we want it to be a thorough process it will not be completed overnight.” She said the facility’s impending closure would not prevent further action. “The fact that Cumberland Hospital is closing does not change our responsibility to ensure safe, dignified and high-quality care in the interim,” she said. “Our focus remains firmly on the people receiving care today. “We don’t want people experiencing mental distress shunted away in small, isolated facilities. “The new Westmead Integrated Mental Health Complex will allow us to relocate patients into a modern, integrated network of health facilities.” The appointment of an oversight committee comes after three patients absconded from the facility - two of whom are allegedly linked to two fatal incidents in Sydney. Luke Peter Francis, 31, was charged with 11 offences after he allegedly killed two women in a fatal crash in Camden on February 14. Police allege Francis assaulted a 25-year-old man at a petrol station in Hurstville about 01.20am on February 14, then stole his red car and drove away. He allegedly led police on a pursuit through Sydney’s southwest before it was called off about 40 minutes before the crash. Lee Casuscelli, 60, and her passenger Maureen Crosland, 84, were on their way to collect a relative’s wedding dress when the red car ploughed into their Alpha Romeo on February 14. Both women died at the scene. Francis escaped from the country’s largest mental health facility days before the deadly crash. Speaking to NewsWire, a Western Sydney Local Health District spokesman claimed Mr Francis “forcibly took” a staff member’s access card and escaped the Cumberland Hospital on February 8. The fatal crash came days before a patient from Cumberland hospital absconded and allegedly launched a stabbing rampage in a mini mart in Merrylands on February 17. Setefano Mooniai Leaaetoa, 25, escaped from care while being transferred between hospitals. He then allegedly murdered Amammuddin Sadar, 38, and critically injuring two others, Ambika Sharma, 47, and Emre Sen, 21, at the mini mart. A NSW health spokesman said: “The district is aware a person alleged to be involved in the incident is a recent patient of Cumberland Hospital, which provides acute inpatient care for people with complex mental health needs”. The spokesman said NSW Police had been notified and Mr Leaaetoa’s family were made aware of his escape, but “all attempts by WSLHD to contact the person were unsuccessful”. “A formal review into the person’s care and treatment will be undertaken, which will include an external senior psychiatrist,” the spokesman said. The third patient escaped the hospital on Saturday. On Saturday about 9.30am, Madan Pandey, 25, was seen leaving the mental health facility wearing black shorts and a black t-shirt. The man is known to frequent the Merrylands area, and is described as being of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance, with short black hair, a full beard and moustache. The ABC reports he was taking approved leave from the hospital but failed to return on time. He is not accused of committing any crime.