Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: “On the first night of the recent disorder, amongst those rescued by Police and Fire colleagues from their homes, were health workers. There have also been reports of disgraceful threats and intimidation directed to our nurses, carers and other healthcare staff.

“In order to help protect and reassure health staff, I and my teams have been working directly with our Health Trusts and the hugely important Independent Health Sector to listen to their worries and see how we could help. I have also spoken directly with the Royal College of Nursing and UNISON as representative bodies of nursing and healthcare professionals.  As a result of these extremely positive engagements Police have committed significant resources to being in the vicinity of our hospitals to reassure and protect staff.  We have also held drop-in crime prevention sessions.  This support has been greatly received.

“On the first night of the disorder police were dealing with multiple seats of violence and protest activity across Greater Belfast and beyond.  We did receive reports of vehicles being stopped by masked individuals in the Greater Belfast area. Officers responded immediately and a significant mobile policing presence was maintained for a period of time to provide reassurance and prevent the commission of offences. 

“We are aware of reports circulating that police officers may have advised nursing staff outside the Mater Hospital to show their ID to masked men.  We are checking our records of Tuesday evening to establish if we can identify any specific reports.  I have also engaged directly with the Chief Executive of the Belfast Trust and with senior staff at the Mater Hospital in order to obtain any specific examples they might be aware of. No one has come to police directly at this stage and we would urge anyone who experienced this or who has information to contact us on 101.”