Police called to Western Health and Social Care facilities more than 400 times in two years

Figures released by the Western Health and Social Care Trust have revealed the PSNI was called to Trust facilities more than 400 times in two years.

Aontú Ballyarnett representative Emmet Doyle, who received the statistics as a result of an Freedom of Information (FOI) request he submitted to the Trust, said it was "time for a review of how staff and other patients are kept safe". 

"I am genuinely shocked by these numbers," he added. " I asked the Western Trust how many times the PSNI were called to their facilities in the last two years, broken down by facility, and I didn't expect anywhere near the 403 incidents recorded.

"In particular, Grangewood was forced to make 250 calls in that period, with some months with well over 20 calls made - in July 2025 alone, 40 calls were made, which is shocking. It equates to an average of ten calls a month.

"91 calls were responded to in Altnagelvin A&E, with a further 39 to the hospital in general.  This is well over twice the number of calls made to the A&E at the South West Acute Hospital at 34, and 37 were made to that hospital in general.

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"It is clear that both in Omagh and Derry, units engaged in mental health care make the most calls to police, and it is right to ask what measures are being put in place to protect staff and patients.  It is also deeply worrying that behaviour gets to a level across the Trust where staff feel they have no option but to seek the intervention of police officers.

"It is incumbent that both the PSNI and Western Trust, if they have not already, engage on how to ensure these numbers are reduced, that staff are made to feel safe in their place of work and that all service users know that if their behaviour becomes unacceptable, they are forcing police to redirect services from what could be emergencies, to deal with them - and there should be genuine consequences for that."