A POTENTIALLY dangerous mentally ill patient was today still on the run after escaping from a Hampshire psychiatric unit.

Faysal Diiriye, 32, has not been seen since he broke out of the Department of Psychiatry at the Royal South Hants Hospital in Southampton last Wednesday, where he was being assessed for a mental disorder.

Today questions have been raised over why it took two days before the authorities issued a warning to the public that Mr Diiriye could be dangerous.

Mr Diiriye had been admitted to the department of psychiatry on February 13 and had been undergoing assessment by staff to determine the nature and extent of his condition.

He managed to escape from the supposedly secure unit and staff reported the disappearance to police in the early hours of Thursday morning.

But it was more than 36 hours later by the time the warning was issued by Hampshire police.

Now answers are being sought over why a warning wasn't put out immediately.

Ward councillor for Portswood, Liberal Democrat Calvin Horner said: "I think the public should be advised as quickly as possible, particularly if an individual poses a risk. I don't think there should be a delay in getting that information through and I would think that is something that should be looked into by the health authority."

Southampton Itchen MP John Denham agreed and urged the health trust to review its security procedures and make the result public as soon as possible.

He added: "In many cases there is good reason for the warning not to be put out straight away. However, if this was an administrative delay then that is unacceptable. Similarly if there was some confusion between the health trust and police then both sides need to sit down at a senior level and review their procedures quickly."

Margaret Edwards, head of strategy for the mental health charity SANE, said: "We are becoming increasingly concerned by the number of extremely disturbed patients being allowed to discharge themselves, abscond or simply leave psychiatric wards.

"Too few efforts are made to protect them and the public or give critical information to the community. Such cases further reduce confidence in the psychiatric services."

Defending the decision, Inspector Paul Strassheim said: "At the start of the inquiry it was not known the nature of this man's condition and whether he posed a risk or not. At the time he went missing he was undergoing assessment and that had not been completed.

"When someone is reported missing we generally exhaust lines of inquiry first like checking the home address and visiting places the person is known to frequent and if that is unsuccessful we ask the public for help."

Insp Strassheim was unable to confirm whether Mr Diiriye, who lived alone in the Portswood area of Southampton, had a history of violence.

No one from the DoP was available for comment.

Mr Diiriye is described as black, about 5ft 9in, slim with brown eyes and short black curly hair. He has a thin moustache and was last seen wearing a long, cream coloured coat and blue jeans.

A police spokesman said: "Due to his mental state, Faysal could pose a danger both to himself and members of the public."

Anyone who sees Mr Diiriye is urged not to approach him, but call police on 999 immediately.