CANADA: Elderly woman found dead a week after she left hospital for a smoke

. EDMONTON, Alberta / The Canadian Press / December 12, 2008 An elderly patient at Alberta Hospital, a psychiatric facility, has been found dead a week after she went outside for a cigarette. Elder advocates and the family of Lorraine Adolph are questioning how this could have happened. Adolph, 68, left the hospital on December 4 and didn't return. Police say hospital officials notified them six hours later and when they went to the hospital, they were told a search of the building and grounds had already been done. On Thursday, police returned for a followup search and found Adolph's body just 400 metres from the hospital. Ruth Adria of Elder Advocates says her group will push the Alberta government to hold an inquiry into Adolph's death. Adria said it wasn't the first time Adolph had walked away and hospital officials should have been aware that there was a problem. "There's no accountablility ... that you can turn to and say somebody will take authority and determine what really happened," Adria said. Alberta Health and Wellness wouldn't comment on whether there's a supervision policy for patients who go outside for a cigarette. Source: CNews