'Disgusting' drug dealing in hospital condemned

Criminals utilizing the waiting country successful a engaged infirmary exigency section (ED) to woody drugs person been branded arsenic "disgusting".

There person been 22 reports of cause dealing astatine Northern Ireland's biggest hospital, the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) successful Belfast, successful 2024.

One pistillate has told BBC News NI that she was successful a infirmary waiting country with her parent erstwhile she witnessed radical sharing drugs with a diligent who had been brought to infirmary earlier that evening.

The Belfast Trust said the summation successful cause taking and dealing connected its sites was a worrying trend.

Used needles, seen by BBC News NI, were recovered successful the disabled toilet/baby alteration bins successful the ED toilets.

Figures obtained done a state of accusation (FOI) petition to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) amusement an summation successful anti-social behaviour, including cause usage and cause dealing.

From January to August 2024, determination were 22 reports of cause dealing successful and astir the infirmary compared to 5 reports successful the aforesaid play successful the erstwhile year, meaning reports person quadrupled successful 1 year.

The figures besides showed 19 arrests were made successful the archetypal fractional of 2024 for astatine slightest 1 cause offence, specified arsenic possession oregon trafficking.

But the FOI petition notes authorities that owed to the quality of gathering information, determination could beryllium much incidents that autumn extracurricular the method of information search.

The woman, who was with her mother, said: “They were sitting connected the chairs successful the waiting area, sharing retired tablets amongst themselves, moving retired what tablets to get ordered to beryllium brought up to the hospital."

"They were making telephone calls to whoever it was that they were getting the drugs from, to get them delivered to the hospital.

“To beryllium sitting successful A&E, surrounded by sick, susceptible radical with this going connected successful beforehand of you, it’s conscionable ridiculous.

"That adjacent the unit are having to woody with that connected a regular basis, ne'er caput the sick patients who are coming into the hospital.

“To beryllium there, with my sick mother, and witnesser that going on, was disgusting.”

It was a engaged Friday nighttime erstwhile I headed to the ED. No cameras, nary microphones, simply to instrumentality a look.

In that tiny snapshot, astir 90 minutes oregon so, successful a engaged waiting country filled with patients listening retired for their names to beryllium called, successful wheelchairs, successful pain, dozing off.

I listened to telephone calls wherever members of the nationalist were calling and ordering drugs.

People successful the country were asking friends astir them if they had immoderate drugs they could have.

While I didn’t spot anyone instrumentality immoderate drugs oregon person immoderate successful their possession, successful the disabled toilet, which is utilized arsenic the babe alteration facility, I saw cause paraphernalia successful the bin, a needle successful amongst manus towels.

Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor Paul Doherty said anti-social behaviour had ever been an contented astatine the RVH site, but it had "never been arsenic bad".

"This is the past happening radical need. They're coming in, either earnestly sick oregon sick with their loved ones oregon family, and they're walking consecutive successful to this precise unsafe enactment present connected this Royal site," helium told BBC News NI.

"I person heard from radical who person challenged this.

"They’re bringing successful aged and vulnerable, and unwell household members and walking successful to enactment wherever radical are either utilizing drugs oregon dealing drugs and challenging that, saying, ‘Are you alert of wherever you are and radical are going done a precise hard clip here?'

"It’s astir awareness; it’s astir reporting, and I cognize that galore of the Royal unit present person been reporting connected an ongoing basis."

In May, the Belfast Health Trust told the BBC it was moving intimately with the constabulary and section assemblage representatives to code the issue.

In a statement, the Belfast Trust said it was "concerned astir an summation successful antisocial behaviour including cause usage and cause dealing connected the Royal Hospitals site".

"We are moving intimately with PSNI colleagues and section assemblage representatives to code this worrying trend," a spokesperson said.

"We would inquire everyone to delight beryllium respectful of your hospitals and assemblage sites to assistance support them harmless places for your household and friends to attend."

Ch Insp Claire Hamilton said: "[The PSNI] volition proceed to usage precocious visibility, targeted patrols... person utilised constabulary dogs who are specially trained to observe drugs, to disrupt and apprehension those progressive successful the merchantability and proviso of drugs, and enactment them earlier the courts".

She added that cause dealing and substance misuse was a "policing priority," and constabulary volition proceed to enactment "with communities and spouse agencies to trim the menace of harmful and amerciable activity".

"We are asking everyone for their enactment and practice successful tackling this occupation done the transgression justness system," she said.