Officers shouldn't be taking injured people to hospital

1 June 2018

Police officers should not be ferrying injured people to hospital says Surrey Police Federation.

Chair Mel Warnes is concerned that it’s becoming more and more common with officers also often having to use their police vehicles to ensure people suffering from mental health issues are transferred to safe areas.

Mel said that officers are often left with no choice but to carry out the task.

“Demand is already extremely high for officers and it would be officers who would be held accountable if something happened to a person they were transporting," she said.

“It’s happening regularly, and I’m concerned that members are left with no option to transport people with injuries or mental health issues to hospital or places of safety.”

Often it's because ambulances are not always able to attend promptly, she said.

“Many ambulance services are contracted to transport people who are sectioned by police under the Mental Health Act and they are contracted to do this within an hour

“South East Coast Ambulance service are contracted this way but often are not attending within that time and it can sometimes be three hours or more, it’s the same issue with injured people.”

“This is when we’re having to make difficult decisions on whether to transport people to where they should be.”

Without the correct equipment on board to help with a medical emergency the ramifications of what police are doing could be serious, she added.

“We don’t have the right kit to deal with ill or injured people,” she said, “and our first aid training is basic.

“However, it’s almost as if they feel if an officer is in attendance then the job for them is put at the bottom of the list.”

Mel warned that it could leave officers exposed to risk of investigations from IOPC should things go wrong while the injured person was in transit.

“It would be the officers, not the ambulance crew, who would be under investigation,” she said.

Catch the full interview with Mel here; https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p066w2sy#play