SHOCKING RISE IN AMBULANCE UNDER ATTACK WHILE THEY’RE SAVING LIVES...
SUNDAY MIRROR
TWO paramedics today lift the lid on a shameful NHS scandal – caused by the very people the 999 services try to help.
Rob Shaw and Richard Bentley reveal how they have both been brutally attacked by patients on call-outs.
Rob was so badly beaten in a terrifying ambulance assault he had to give up the job he loved and learn to walk again.
Richard has been attacked with a knife, bitten and head-butted in three separate incidents.
But the sickening stories they tell are just the tip of an iceberg as new figures show the number of violent assaults on ambulance workers has soared to record levels – with around six taking place somewhere in Britain every day.
Many are also carried out by the families of patients – their frustration boiling over because ambulance crews, over-stretched by NHS cuts, are taking longer to arrive.
High staff turnover due to paramedics suffering burn-out is also playing a part, with new recruits thrown in at the deep end without the experience to know when to wait for police back-up.
A total of 2,300 paramedics and ambulance technicians reported being attacked on duty last year – a 47 per cent hike in just five years. Data obtained by Total physical assaults last year at England’s 10 ambulance trusts 1 London.................................456 ...................... 3 West Midlands....................304
5 South East Coast..............207 7 South Western...................160 9 North East...........................116 the Sunday Mirror shows they were stabbed, kicked, punched, bitten and spat at – all while trying to save people’s lives. And the figures from NHS Protect reveal only 17 per cent of incidents led to the attacker receiving a police caution or punishment through the courts.
David Davis, of the College of Paramedics, works on ambulances in Sussex. He said: “I have known colleagues get their arms dislocated and have their noses broken.
“The first time I was assaulted on the job I was really shaken up. I was in the back of an ambulance with a drunken young man who’d been in a punch-up and all of a sudden he jumped on me and was about to give me a leathering.
“My colleague was able to stop him, but I was really upset by it.
“You do this job because you want to help people, so when you find yourself face to face with people who want to attack you, it’s terrible.”
Safety campaigner Jonathan Fox, 60, wants to see all front line ambulance workers kitted out with body armour.
Jonathan, who retired from London Ambulance Service last year after 36 years, said: “One assault on a paramedic is one too many. And 2,300 in a year is absolutely unacceptable. Still not enough is done to protect them. Some people will argue giving paramedics stab vests isn’t helpful in portraying the ambulance service in a caring way. But when the people who are trying to save lives are under attack, we must create a safe working environment for them.” Jonathan said delays in responding to 999 calls due to the escalating NHS crisis were partly to blame for the rise in assaults. “Family members get angry when their loved one has had to wait a long time for an ambulance,” he said. “That anger can turn into aggression.” He said a surge in alcohol- related incidents and a rise in call- outs to patients with mental health issues were also contributing factors.
We asked the 10 ambulance trusts in England for details of attacks against ambulance workers. The result was a litany of disturbing incidents. Injuries ranged from broken bones to stab wounds, burns and concussion. One ambulance worker in Yorkshire suffered spinal cord damage in an attack, while another was stabbed in the back. In Cheshire, a crew member was left with a broken shoulder after one mercy dash.
In Manchester, an ambulance worker