Belfast City Council

Report to: Parks and Leisure Committee

Subject: Incident at the Grove Well Being Centre

Date: 15 September 2011

Reporting Officer: Rose Crozier, Assistant Director of Parks and Leisure

Contact Officer: Katrina Morgan. Leisure Operations Manager

1.0	Relevant Background Information
	At approximately 12pm on Thursday 11 August 2011 a 40 year old woman was stabbed more than 20 times. The incident occurred in the communal area of the Grove Wellbeing Centre ground floor just outside the pharmacy. The woman was seriously wounded but her condition was not described as life threatening.

2.0

Key Issues

This incident was witnessed by two leisure receptionists and staff from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT). A Leisure attendant and a member of the BHSCT staff administered emergency first aid until a doctor arrived on the scene, while another leisure attendant chased the attacker. A 23 year old man was later arrested in the Church Road area of Holywood on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the attack. This incident is now the subject of an ongoing police investigation. Staff who witnessed the incident were given immediate access to the council’s occupational health service, who visited the centre a short time after the incident. Staff co-operated fully with the PSNI who were given full access to the building’s CCTV system enabling them to obtain video footage of the attack. A summer scheme for children was being run in the centre at the time of the incident and prior to the incident being reported on the news, leisure staff contacted the parents of all the summer scheme children to advise them that their children were safe and that there was no need for concern. The Trust has declared this to be a serious adverse incident. An internal Trust review is currently being undertaken in to all the procedures around this type of case conferencing within their centres. Once this is completed a joint risk assessment and a review of client/customer safety arrangements will be undertaken to identify if there are any necessary changes to the current systems or processes that need to be implemented.

3.0	Resource Implications
	Financial Unknown until the review is completed. Human Resources One member of Leisure staff currently off with stress relating to this incident. Asset and Other Implications None.

4.0	Equality and Good Relations Implications
	There are currently no equality implications.

5.0	Recommendations
	It is recommended that Members note the contents of the report.

6.0	Decision Tracking
	N/A

7.0	Key to Abbreviations
	BHSCT Belfast Health and Social Care Trust PSNI Police Service Northern Ireland CCTV Closed Circuit Television

8.0	Documents Attached
	None.