A man who fled an outback hospital assessing his mental health was found dead after police opted not to conduct a full search, a coroner has been told.
An initial search could not find Kumanjayi Rubuntja after the 45-year-old punched a security guard and left Alice Springs hospital in late 2023, an inquest was told.
The next day a police sergeant and a hospital doctor spoke, and decided a search need not continue, the coroner heard on Monday.
Kumanjayi Rubuntja, from the remote Aboriginal community of Wallace Rockhole, was found dead days later near a golf course on November 19, 2023 after taking his life.
The former stockman was a proud father and grandfather but was diagnosed in 2013 with schizophrenia, had past alcohol issues and been in and out of custody on driving, domestic violence and assault charges, the inquest was told.
On November 15, 2023, his family called police saying he had self-harmed at Wallace Rockhole after listening to gospel music all night, counsel assisting Sandra Wendlandt, said on Monday.
He was taken to Alice Springs hospital where he was not allowed to leave as an involuntary patient.
Police escorting him left but security officers were in place, coroner Elisabeth Armitage was told.
But as he was awaiting assessment by a special mental health team he walked out of the hospital after punching security, the inquest heard.
The lawyer for his widow Beth told the court she called police wanting to know why they did not pursue a search, saying: "It's really serious, I need my partner".
She also wanted to know if there were ways to ensure people with mental health issues in remote communities were not "lost to medical follow-up".
Northern Territory Police and NT Health, through their lawyers, extended their sympathies to the family of Kumanjayi Rubuntja.
The health department said it had already introduced reforms to prevent such a case happening again.
Ms Wendlandt said an administrative form that should have been used in the case of Kumanjayi Rubuntja was a missing patients one.
She said issues for the inquest to consider were whether the care and security provided by NT Health was appropriate and was Kumanjayi Rubuntja's mental health presentation sufficiently well understood
The inquest would also consider whether NT Police adequately carried out their duties and responsibilities once he had left hospital, including conducting an adequate search.
"It will help determine whether anything could have been done differently and whether those steps might have changed the course of events and saved his life," Ms Wendlandt said.
The inquest continues.
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