Here are the 52 reasons police were called from The Harbour mental health hospital in Blackpool in just 10 weeks

The Gazette asked Lancashire Police for a list of reasons officers took calls from the inpatient unit, in Preston New Road, Marton, after a nurse was ‘napalmed’ by having a mixture of hot water and sugar thrown over her earlier this year.

The force declined to release the full logs under freedom of information laws, citing a personal information exemption, but it did list all calls between January 1 and March 9, including the time and date and a brief description of each alleged “offence”.

Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden said: “This just illustrates the continued problems and dysfunctionality at The Harbour.

“It needs addressing not just by management but regulatory authorities.

“This builds on the concerns that I and others have had, as indeed has the chief constable, about the impact of mental health issues on police involvement and workload, and I will be talking to the commissioner [Clive Grunshaw]’s office on this matter.”

When asked whether 52 calls in 10 weeks was par for the course or unusual, Lancashire Care, which runs the flagship facility and is responsible for mental health care across the county, said the police “would need to respond to this question”.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “The reality of policing today is that we are facing unprecedented levels of demand involving people reaching crisis point with mental health issues.

“We continue to work closely with our partners to address these challenges.”

Hoax calls were the number one reason police were called from The Harbour, where three-quarters of seriously-ill patients are sectioned rather than being admitted voluntarily, with 14 made in the 10 week period.

Eight calls related to “concerns for safety”, while five calls related to alleged assaults. There were four calls linked to missing people, four calls were abandoned, and three related to alleged thefts. Others were classed as collapses, lost property, a civil dispute, an alleged sex offence, a suspicious package, and suspicious circumstances.

Lisa Moorhouse, head of operations for mental health at Lancashire Care, said: “The care, safety and support of our [patients] is our priority - The Harbour is a hospital, not a secure facility. The nature of our patients’ illness does not prohibit them from having access to mobile phones and devices.

“We work closely with the police and have a supportive relationship with them with ongoing contact to assess if attendance to the unit is required.

“We are not aware that the police believe there is an issue with unnecessary attendances and we have a process which is followed in cases where a patient may be making multiple calls to the police.

“We take a multi-disciplinary approach to the care of our patients and each is managed on an individual basis.”

Date / Time / (Alleged) offence01/01/2019 23:39 Theft01/01/2019 19:56 Concern for Safety02/01/2019 10:28 Assault03/01/2019 18:27 Collapse / Illness / Injury / Trapped05/01/2019 08:47 Abandoned Call07/01/2019 16:46 Hoax calls to the emergency services08/01/2019 23:19 Concern for Safety09/01/2019 22:30 Hoax calls to the emergency services09/01/2019 17:16 Lost / recovered property / Found person11/01/2019 00:58 Personal12/01/2019 12:07 Civil Dispute14/01/2019 14:05 Concern for Safety14/01/2019 00:58 Assault15/01/2019 16:59 Miss From Home16/01/2019 17:24 Hoax calls to the emergency services17/01/2019 20:18 Lost / recovered property / Found person18/01/2019 20:48 Concern for Safety19/01/2019 02:35 Assault20/01/2019 10:28 Hoax calls to the emergency services22/01/2019 16:23 Hoax calls to the emergency services23/01/2019 11:32 Abandoned Call25/01/2019 20:40 Abandoned Call25/01/2019 13:57 Sexual Offence28/01/2019 19:30 Concern for Safety30/01/2019 18:40 Concern for Safety01/02/2019 16:27 Collapse / Illness / Injury / Trapped01/02/2019 07:28 Hoax calls to the emergency services03/02/2019 12:56 Abandoned Call03/02/2019 07:37 Hoax calls to the emergency services04/02/2019 08:39 Hoax calls to the emergency services05/02/2019 13:43 Personal05/02/2019 09:42 Assault06/02/2019 02:45 Miss From Home07/02/2019 16:38 Theft07/02/2019 13:32 Assault08/02/2019 11:54 Theft08/02/2019 01:48 Hoax calls to the emergency services11/02/2019 00:14 Assault12/02/2019 21:39 Hoax calls to the emergency services13/02/2019 17:39 Suspicious package / object13/02/2019 14:48 Hoax calls to the emergency services17/02/2019 15:54 Suspicious Circumstances17/02/2019 08:55 Concern for Safety18/02/2019 22:00 Assault18/02/2019 20:40 Hoax calls to the emergency services21/02/2019 15:23 Concern for Safety24/02/2019 23:45 Nuisance26/02/2019 14:18 Miss From Home01/03/2019 11:23 Hoax calls to the emergency services02/03/2019 16:24 Hoax calls to the emergency services08/03/2019 20:18 Miss From Home09/03/2019 14:06 Other Notifiable Crime