‘Officers should get priority access to health services’

2 August 2021

Police officers in Wales should be covered by the new Police Covenant in the same way as their colleagues in England, according to the Police Federation’s Welsh lead.

The Police Covenant, part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill making its way through Parliament now, will not automatically apply in Wales as policing and justice are reserved matters within a devolved Government.

But Nicky Ryan, the Welsh lead for the Federation, is calling on Senedd Members to adopt it once it passes into law in Westminster.

And she said there was also an opportunity for the Senedd to give special recognition to the extraordinary contribution police officers make to the communities they serve by granting them priority access to NHS services in Wales.

She said:  “Police officers have a unique role in society. They put their lives on the line to protect their communities every day and can pay the ultimate price for such dedication.

“Our members are always at risk of being injured in the line of duty with assaults on emergency services personnel soaring up by 26 per cent during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Frontline officers who are injured can then end up being off work for months on end while they wait for treatment or physiotherapy appointments.

“Priority access to NHS services would ensure they got back to work earlier and would also fit in with the basic ethos of the new Police Covenant.

“Welsh politicians have the power to ensure this priority access and I am in the process of arranging meetings with a number of Assembly Members to try to secure their backing for our proposals.”

The Police Covenant Board met for the first time last month and agreed to discuss proposals to ensure occupational health standards are embedded across all police forces, the establishment of a new chief medical officer for policing in England and Wales and improved training for GPs relating to specific police roles.

Plans to develop pre-deployment mental health support for the entire police workforce and consider what a good support model for families should look like were also discussed at the meeting.

The board will meet every quarter to discuss the Police Covenant and deliver agreed outcomes and monitoring progress.

Those attending the meeting alongside the Police Federation and the Home Office included representatives from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the Police Superintendents’ Association, UNISON, the Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association and a representative of the Welsh Government.

Police Federation of England and Wales national chair John Apter described the first meeting of the Police Covenant board as an  “important step forward”.

Nicky concluded: “This is a great step forward but we now need to ensure that officers in Wales are offered similar support.”