THREE police commuity support officers (PCSOs) are being recruited to patrol the grounds of Oxford’s two mental health hospitals to track down missing patients.

Mental health chiefs are joint funding two full-time officers at Littlemore Mental Health Centre, and one at Warneford Hospital, Headington.

Insp Andy Storey, said officers were called to the Littlemore hospital at least once a week following reports of missing or suicidal patients.

Insp Storey, in charge of policing in Blackbird Leys, Rose Hill, Littlemore and Iffley, said: “The idea is the PCSOs can participate in solving crime and provide crime reduction advice, and maybe look for anyone who has gone missing from the hospital.

“They will get to know the patients and the staff and they will hopefully have some knowledge about an individual and where they might have gone, if they go missing.”

Insp Storey said searches for missing patients required background checks and risk assessments to be carried out, in addition to sending officers to look for the person. He added: “The force want to try and get some sort of protocol in place to try and make it a bit easier.”

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust (OBMH) will splitthe £32,000 annual cost of the two officers, who start work next month, with Thames Valley Police.

Half of their time will be spent specifically patrolling the hospital grounds and the other half policing surrounding neighbourhoods.

Both hospitals provide in- and out-patient care.

Littlemore has a low secure psychiatric intenstive care unit and a forensic mental health team for those needing treatment after being referred by police and courts.

Spokesman Emma Heath said: “The safety of staff, service users and visitors to our sites is a priority and officers on site helps to keep the grounds safe.

“The PCSOs are not responsible for the care arrangements of our service users and the trust has dedicated staff teams who ensure the wellbeing of our service users.”

She added: “The Pcsos were not recruited to reduce a specific problem.

“The recruitment of a Pcso who works within trust sites enables us to keep service users, staff and visitors safe.

Mental hospital incidents which have involved police include:

December 2007 - Armed robber Leigh Cooper, described as “unpredictable and volatile”, walks away from the trust’s care for the second time on Christmas Eve 2007. His disappearance sparked a police hunt across Oxford and warnings for the public not to approach him.

December 2008 - Christine Belcher, 42, from Kidlington, found dead in a field near Water Eaton, Kidlington, last December after walking out of the Warneford Hospital.

November 2009 - Violent schizophrenic Saju Miah, 25, who was sent to Littlemore Hospital secure unit after attacking a pensioner with a rock, flees from the hospital while on an escorted walk in the garden.

July 2010 - The body of Emma Coats, 49, from Sutton Courtenay, a patient at the Warneford, is found in Seaford, Sussex. She walked out of the hospital in June.

The hospital initiative is not the first time PCSOs have been part-funded by non-police bodies.

Oxford Brookes University has taken on two PCSOs, at a cost of about £120,000, to patrol its Headington campuses and surrounding roads. They started work earlier this month.

Meanwhile in August, Oxford University revealed it had not renewed funding for two PCSOs to patrol colleges and university buildings around the city, following two years of patrols costing £120,000.

A PCSO provides a visible police presence on the streets, usually patrolling a beat and helping police officers at crime scenes. However, they do not have the same powers as regular police officers and cannot arrest people.