REMEMBER OTHER VICTIMS OF OMAGH
Remember other victims of Omagh
I AM writing to you in the aftermath of the 10th anniversary of the Omagh bomb, in the hope of drawing attention to the forgotten officers who, because of their jobs, suffered, and continue to suffer trauma as a result of their involvement in the investigation of the incident.
My husband is a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI), a job formerly known as Scenes Of Crime Officer (SOCO) and who was at the scene of the explosion in Market Street for an entire week. He rarely mentions the incident as he still finds it too distressing to discuss with me and likes to keep details of his work away from family life. During his time in Omagh, I'm sure that he had to see and do things that no person should have to, and he has suffered psychological problems ever since and has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has been on anti-depressant medication for several years.
Despite having an injury on duty award, he has to take so much time off work, that now if he is stressed, he cannot take this much-needed time off, because he has exceeded his sick leave allowance and no longer receives sick pay.
Had he been a police officer and had an injury on duty, he would be entitled to unlimited absence; however, because he is a civilian employee different rules apparently apply and now he has to struggle through when in reality he should receive equal rights.
I believe that it is a disgrace, that someone who has worked for so long for the betterment of the community should be treated in this manner and his work-related illness treated with apathy by the PSNI.
Concerned,
Co Fermanagh (name and address submitted)
I AM writing to you in the aftermath of the 10th anniversary of the Omagh bomb, in the hope of drawing attention to the forgotten officers who, because of their jobs, suffered, and continue to suffer trauma as a result of their involvement in the investigation of the incident.
My husband is a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI), a job formerly known as Scenes Of Crime Officer (SOCO) and who was at the scene of the explosion in Market Street for an entire week. He rarely mentions the incident as he still finds it too distressing to discuss with me and likes to keep details of his work away from family life. During his time in Omagh, I'm sure that he had to see and do things that no person should have to, and he has suffered psychological problems ever since and has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has been on anti-depressant medication for several years.
Despite having an injury on duty award, he has to take so much time off work, that now if he is stressed, he cannot take this much-needed time off, because he has exceeded his sick leave allowance and no longer receives sick pay.
Had he been a police officer and had an injury on duty, he would be entitled to unlimited absence; however, because he is a civilian employee different rules apparently apply and now he has to struggle through when in reality he should receive equal rights.
I believe that it is a disgrace, that someone who has worked for so long for the betterment of the community should be treated in this manner and his work-related illness treated with apathy by the PSNI.
Concerned,
Co Fermanagh (name and address submitted)
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/771
Published Date: 11-Sep-08
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.