Hospital police were too costly

POLICE are no longer based at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, largely due to cost. NHS chief executive Julie White has revealed that it cost between £80,000 and £100,000 a year to have on-site officers. Her comments were included in papers for the recent NHS board meeting, which read: “Julie White explained the rationale behind withdrawing on-site police officers at DGRI. The arrangement, which cost approximately £80,000–£100,000 annually, was deemed not cost-effective, especially since most incidents occurred outside the officers’ limited hours. “Julie White acknowledged the value of the relationships built with on-site officers and committed to monitoring the impact of the change. It was also noted that most other health boards only rely on standard police response protocols.