Police in talks with health chiefs as call-outs to hospital site soar

POLICE HAVE spent more time at the largest hospital site in Europe in the first six months of this year than in the previous 12 months as demand for officers has soared, new figures have revealed.

Officers from South Yorkshire Police spent 2,476 hours dealing with incidents at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield by the end of September, compared to 1,883 hours for 2017/18.

But focused action by officers in recent weeks has seen numbers of incidents they have needed to attend cut by almost half.

Negotiations are also being staged with management at the site, which could see NHS funding used to finance a police officer to work exclusively at the complex.

The figures were presented to South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings, and one of the biggest draws on the force’s resources is investigations which follow patients going missing, which are normally a result of mental health issues, or patients attending the accident and emergency department.

In recent history, police have needed to deal with eight such incidents every day, but following work with the hospital that has been slashed to two daily cases.

Hospital staff have been trained to deal with such risks, which police say has been a “challenging time”. Changes at the hospital include the provision of a room for police, allowing officers to set up a “station” on the site.

But discussions are expected to continue in the New Year between senior officers and the hospital’s management which could result in the NHS funding a police officer to work full-time on the premises. The hospital trust itself has 22 security staff, but they are spread between the NGH, Royal Hallamshire and Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Sheffield’s District Commander, Chief Supt Stuart Barton, said the hospital was still a “real challenge” and is an issue which officers discuss on a daily basis.

He added: “We have some ideas and will be discussing them with the chief executive early in the New Year. We have already had a discussion about a funded officer, their security and what they can do to reduce demand. There is room for some improvement around the numbers they have.”

The scale of resources needed at the NGH dwarfs all of South Yorkshire’s other hospitals with accident and emergency departments, which are a major source of police incidents.

Statistics for the first six months of this year suggest there will be an increasing drain on police resources, with Doncaster Royal Infirmary accounting for 881 hours of officers’ time from April to September, compared to 833 hours for the whole of the previous year.

However, Barnsley Hospital, where security staff have been increased, has needed 500 hours of policing time so far, against 766 hours for the whole of last year.

There is room for some improvement around the numbers they have. Sheffield’s District Commander, Chief Supt Stuart Barton.