A mental health patient has gone missing near Newcastle after taking a toilet break while on a supervised visit to a dentist.
Jacob McDonald, 41, a patient at Morisset Hospital, was declared missing about 11am (AEDT) on Monday.
Hunter New England (HNE) Health’s mental health director Dinesh Arya said Mr McDonald was one of four patients on a supervised visit to a dental clinic in Toronto when he went missing.
“He went missing when he went for a toilet break,” Dr Arya said in a statement.
Police were notified about 90 minutes later and mounted a search.
Dr Arya said Mr McDonald was considered to be a low risk to the community.
“The patient is on a rehab pathway and has been responding well to treatment,” he said.
He is described as caucasian, 179cm tall with a solid build.
He has a shaved head, blue eyes and was last seen wearing grey trousers and a grey jacket.
In December, Trent Jennings, 26, allegedly assaulted a man he had met online while he was on day leave from the same Morisset facility.
He was being detained for killing his gay lover during a drug-fuelled sex romp in 2003.
After five days on the run, Jennings was arrested in Byron Bay, on the NSW far north coast.
HNE Health was reviewing the circumstances that allowed Mr McDonald to leave undetected and scrutinising leave procedures at Morisset Hospital, Dr Arya said.
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