Crime statistics for Wellington last month showed a large jump in offences classified by police as Violence Against the Person. However, PCSO Steve Hill explained to town councillors that nearly all of the increase was due to calls from patients at the Wellesley Hospital, the secure mental health facility at Chelston.
“We sometimes get three or four calls in a day from residents at the hospital who’ve had an altercation with another patient or a staff member and we have to log and investigate each one,” explained PCSO Hill.
“The calls are from personal mobile phones and the hospital say they are unable to take them away from people. These are not official calls from hospital staff wanting police assistance.
“The vast majority of these incidents are not serious and the management at the hospital say they are going to find a solution to the problem. But in the meantime we have to deal with them.”