PSNI officer put himself at ‘substantial risk’ during incident at Craigavon Hospital

A large section of the PSNI district’s fleet were at the hospital dealing with a high level of issues.

A PSNI spokespers said: “Mental health, missing vulnerable people, arrested suspects with health issues, drink and drug related incidents which put an inordinate amount of pressure on our already stretched NHS, and of course the disgusting attacks on staff which often go with that and require our immediate intervention.

“Our involvement in one of these incidents began with one of our guys putting himself at substantial risk. He saved a life in doing so.

“What you see here (in the photo) is more than the equivalent of an entire response section for our patch.

“So those other, normal, crime related calls? Those anti burglary patrols and beat patrols? They have to wait.

“Thankfully, this was a Friday night when we’re resourced for night life, and so those who would be looking after the pubs, clubs and anti social behaviour end up covering response calls.

“That said, when it gets to this stage, it’s usually only the life at risk calls we’ll get to. The rest will have been put in a queue for thismorning. That then leaves the pubs and clubs low on cover, potentially putting more at risk. It’s an impossible balance.

“If you’ve had to wait for us, or it’s taken too long for us to get to you, take a look at this photo and remember- if we didn’t get to you straight away, it meant someone was having a worse day than you.

“Behind each crew here are another team of incredible medical staff from nhs.uk who treat without fear or favour, juggle and impossible work load, and still manage a smile on top of it all (usually!) Thank you to all our CAH colleagues for what you do day in, day out. We’ll always be there when you need us.”