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Mental health trust inquiry after burns incident

Matt Precey
BBC News, Suffolk
Nikki Fox
BBC health correspondent, East of England
BBC Image of a petrol station forecourt. There are red cars next to the pumps. Neighbouring houses can be seen. The petrol station is covered by a canopy bearing the words "applegreen" and "low fuel prices, always". BBC
The incident happened at a petrol station opposite Ipswich Hospital

A mental health trust is investigating how a patient suffered serious burns while on escorted leave from one of its units.

The emergency services were called to a petrol station on Woodbridge Road East, Ipswich, on Tuesday.

The condition of the man is currently unknown.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) said a serious incident inquiry had began.

NSFT said the man had been an inpatient at the Woodlands Unit, which is based on the site of Ipswich Hospital.

The facility is a few hundred yards away from the petrol station.

In a statement, NSFT said the teenager "was on supervised escorted leave with two members of staff" at the time of the incident.

The unit provides acute mental health care, according to the trust.

Serious incident

Dr Faisil Sethi, the chief medical officer at NSFT, said: "I can confirm that a serious incident took place on Tuesday 13 May in Ipswich.

"The trust's thoughts are with the patient, and we are supporting their family at this very difficult time. We have begun a full review into the circumstances of this incident," he added.

The East of England Ambulance Service said it was "made aware of an incident following calls concerned for the welfare of a man".

"We stood down our response after we received information from blue light colleagues that the man had left the scene and self-presented to hospital," a spokesperson added.

The East Suffolk and North Essex Hospital NHS Trust, which runs Ipswich Hospital, said it could not comment because the patient was under the care of NSFT.

Suffolk Police and Applegreen have also been approached by the BBC.

The petrol station is operated by EG On The Move.

A spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened by this event and our thoughts are with the individual and their family during this incredibly difficult time.

"We commend the actions of our site colleagues and the emergency service responders who acted promptly to secure the scene and provide medical assistance."

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