Ambulance Ransacked While on 999 Call

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at approximately 01:20 on 9 September for a male patient with breathing difficulties. The caller claimed to have been asked to make the call by the patient.

A crew was despatched to an address in the Ladas Way area of East Belfast and while they were in the house dealing with the patient their vehicle was ransacked, apparently by a group of youths who had been nearby, on their arrival.

When the crew returned to their vehicle they found that all the doors were open, cupboards within the vehicle had been opened and the screen for the satellite navigation system had been unscrewed and stolen. Also stolen was a handheld digital trunk radio.

While neither of these two items, by themselves, are life saving pieces of equipment, they are representative of the investment by the ambulance service in systems that improve our response to potentially life threatening calls and in that context are much more valuable to us than to any individual who will be unable to make any use of them.

NIAS would appeal for their return and ask that anyone with information regarding this theft contact their local police station.