MUH Hospital Watch launched in city centre
A new programme called Hospital Watch was launched this week with the aim of preventing crime within the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) setting.
Described as “a proactive crime prevention programme”, it is similar to a residential neighbourhood watch scheme and will operate as a partnership between An Garda Síochána, the HSE, MUH staff, patients and visitors.
Sandra Daly, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy University Hospital (MUH) and Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin launched the initiative on Monday morning with an address to staff and an information stand to promote the programme.
Ms Daly said on Monday: “A day such as today is very exciting for MUH as we are building up and strengthening our partnership with An Garda Síochána to support our hospital in preventing crime.
“The safety of our patients and our staff is paramount and we would be failing in our duty of care to both if we did not seek to address this complex issue in a values-based, multi-agency, collaborative fashion.”
She added: “As a hospital, we are 100 per cent committed to this programme led by the Hospital Watch Working Group and the roll out of this programme has already has had a positive effect for our service users and our staff. The success of Hospital Watch can only be achieved through partnership and in that regard. I wish to acknowledge the valuable engagement and collegiality afforded by An Garda Síochána.”
Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin said: “An Garda Síochána has always worked closely with our colleagues in MUH and this initiative puts this relationship on a formal footing. MUH is uniquely situated in a busy, inner-city environment and we are delighted to support MUH and assist with creating a safer environment for both hospital staff and the community it serves.
“Similar to schemes such as neighbourhood watch, Hospital Watch aims to promote crime prevention awareness among staff and service users to reduce crime and fear of crime in the hospital environment,” he concluded.