Worrying figures

The recent attack on brave paramedics comes only a few months after the Wishaw Press revealed the appalling number of assaults on hospital staff.

The official NHS Lanarkshire statistics, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, revealed Wishaw General workers suffered 394 assaults in 2016 – the equivalent of more than one per day.

In total there were 1086 assaults over the past three years.

Wishaw General’s 2016 figure dwarves the figure of Lanarkshire’s other two acute hospitals Monklands and Hairmyres.

Kenny Small, NHS Lanarkshire’s director of human resources, said: “We take a zero tolerance approach against anyone who attacks any of our staff either physically or verbally and we work with local police in the management of aggressive and violent individuals.

“The safety of staff and patients is of paramount importance and we take the issue of hospital security very seriously.

“Staff are encouraged to report all violent incidents to the police and they will be fully supported by NHS Lanarkshire.

“We also have mandatory training for appropriate staff to enable them to manage violent or potentially violent individuals.”

Earlier this year official figures stated that there were 186 physical assaults on Scottish Ambulance Service staff last year.

In 2016-17, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service reported attacks on firefighters at 77 incidents, a decrease of seven incidents from the previous year.

Three personnel were injured as a result of these assaults.