POLICE Scotland have been rapped after a report found officers should have made further inquiries to trace a 72-year-old man whose 999 called “dropped” and who was later found dead.
Albert Insch made an emergency call for an ambulance on the afternoon of October 26, 2016, from his home in supported accommodation in Inverness.
However, the BT operator could not make out what he said and a recording of the call was passed to Police Scotland’s Area Control Room (ACR), where staff were also unable to make out what he was saying.
Investigators from the Police Investigations and Review Commission (Pirc) listened to the call and believe Insch had said: “Hi, ambulance please mate.”
Police identified that the mobile number had been used by him to make emergency calls on two other occasions, but ACR staff had wrongly recorded his flat number on one of those instances.
Two officers went to the supported accommodation in response to his last 999 call, but went to the wrong flat and received no reply.
A neighbour who had heard them told them the occupier of the flat was a woman who was in hospital and an employee at the accommodation said he took the officers to Insch’s flat, although they disputed this.
The officers remained at the accommodation for eight minutes before leaving without tracing the elderly man.
ACR staff, meanwhile, continued to try to contact him by phone, without success, and the call was closed that evening.
The Pirc report found that despite conflicting accounts of the witnesses and the police officers, they and the ACR supervisors should have made further enquiries to establish whether Insch was safe and well.
Commissioner Kate Frame said: “This is a tragic case, where an elderly man endeavoured to seek emergency assistance but due to a previous error by ACR staff inaccurately recording his address and a failure by the two officers who attended to establish whether Mr Insch was safe and well, he did not receive that assistance.
“I have recommended that Police Scotland reinforce to operational officers and ACR staff the need to diligently carry out enquiries when a 999 call ends unexpectedly.
“Furthermore, I have recommended that Police Scotland ensures that especially in cases involving elderly people, officers should not leave an incident before they have established whether the person is safe and well.”
In a statement issued through Pirc, the dead man’s family said: “We have no further comment to make other than to thank the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner’s team for their support and professionalism surrounding the circumstances in the death or our father and husband.”
Chief Superintendent George Macdonald, Divisional Commander for Highland and Islands Division, said: "Following this incident in October 2016, additional training and clear guidance was implemented and all staff have a full understanding of the actions expected when dealing with enquiries into dropped 999 calls.
"We fully accept the findings of the PIRC investigation following the death of Albert Insch in Inverness, during October 2016. This type of call is one which we face on a regular basis and it is apparent that on this occasion we have not displayed the level of professional curiosity I would expect.
"I have met personally with Mr Insch's family to discuss the findings and I have apologised to them that our enquiries to trace their father's address and adequately ascertain his wellbeing did not go far enough.
"During my time with the Insch family it was also apparent that the level of communication and engagement with Police Scotland during this enquiry and subsequent PIRC investigation had significant room for improvement.
"We have been working with the family to learn lessons to improve our communication which are being implemented and will support others in the future, should the need arise and regardless of the nature of the incident being reviewed.
"I am incredibly appreciative of the family's support given the tragic circumstances they have had to deal with."
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