Half of ambulance staff attacked in the past year
MORE than half of frontline ambulance staff in the West Midlands have been attacked by patients or their relatives, according to a major survey of NHS staff.
At West Midlands Ambulance Service, 52.7 per cent of staff who have contact with patients said they had experienced physical violence at least over the past year.
But hospital staff also face abuse. At University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospitals in Birmingham and Solihull, 18 per cent of staff who work with patients said they had experienced violence in the past year.
The figures come as part of the NHS staff survey, one of the largest workforce surveys in the world, which took place towards the end of 2019.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “During 2019, our staff reported a total of 935 physical and verbal assaults out of a workforce of 6,500. It is an appalling statistic that the vast majority of the public will rightly be outraged about.
“What does it say about our society that a small number of people believe that it acceptable that they punch, kick, spit at and verbally abuse staff who want nothing more than to help people in their hour of need.
“Whilst our staff sometimes have to work in difficult and volatile situations, suffering abuse at the hands of patients or members of their families is something that will never be tolerated.
“We will always push for a prosecution and ask the courts to take note of The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act and the creation of a new aggravated offence which doubles the maximum sentence.
“What must be remembered is that when a member of our staff suffers an assault it not only has a direct impact on them, it has an emotional impact on their family, friends and colleagues. It potentially takes a member of emergency services staff out of operations and often results in an additional ambulance having to be sent to support our staff and continue treating the patient, all of which increases the pressure and workload on what is an already very busy emergency service.”
At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs City Hospital Birmingham and Sandwell General Hospital, the number of those attacked was 19 per cent.
And 12.7 per cent of staff who deal regularly with patients at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the city’s Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital, reported experiencing physical violence from patients or relatives at least once over 12 months.
Nationwide, the survey found 15 per cent of NHS staff reported experiencing violence or abuse from patients or members of the public. Black and minority ethnic staff are 14 per cent more likely to experience violence from members of the public or patients than other staff.