Show no mercy to the shameful abusers of our frontline NHS heroes

AT THIS critical time in our national history, when we are all exposed to a virus that can kill, most of us rightly applaud the dedication and bravery of our NHS heroes.

They put their lives on the line for Britain and we need them more than ever. Indeed, many of us will have participated in the moving “clap for carers” last Thursday – applauding these frontline champions from the homes in which we are confined for our own safety.

Yet an appalling trend has developed – to attack and abuse them. So bad is it that over the past few days NHS staff have been urged to hide their ID badges outside work, while some egregious cases have already come to court.

Let us name and shame some of the offenders. Yesterday, Daniel Shevlin, 27, was remanded in custody for later sentencing following an assault on a worker at Salford Royal Infirmary. On Saturday in Brighton, Peter Davy, 65, spat at three police officers after claiming he was infected with coronavirus, while Paul Leivers, 48, was jailed on Saturday after two counts of spitting at police. It takes a perverse malice to use the Covid-19 virus as a weapon of assault.

Sadly, this antisocial trend was already growing prior to the virus. In late 2018 it was discovered that more than 15 per cent of NHS staff had experienced violence from patients, relatives or the public over the preceding year – the highest figure for five years.

As a result of those shocking statistics the Health Secretary Matt Hancock inaugurated the NHS Violence Reduction Strategy, running in tandem with the Assaults On Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, raising the maximum prison sentence for assaulting an emergency worker from six months to a year.

In the current crisis, such behaviour is not just antisocial – it is life-threatening. We therefore support the call from Home Secretary Priti Patel to increase the tariff to two years and hammer home the message that we will not tolerate such behaviour.

Sadly, there still seems to be a reluctance to act on these pledges, as well as an inconsistency in sentencing. For example, Davy was given just 12 weeks in custody, while Leivers was jailed for the maximum 12 months.

With 9,000 coronavirus patients in hospitals across England – a number that continues to grow – it is vital to protect our NHS and other frontline staff. The message needs to be loud and clear: attacks on these heroes in their finest hour will be punished with the full force of the law.