More than two assaults every day on staff

Ambulance staff attack figures ‘horific’

THERE are more than two assaults on ambulance staff a day in the East Midlands.

Exclusive figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show that East Midlands ambulance service staff have been attacked 896 times in 2018/19.

That was up from 762 assaults recorded in 2017/18.

Of these 896 attacks, 302 were physical assaults while 594 were classed as non-physical.

A member of ambulance staff was assaulted every 90 minutes last year across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There were at least 5,855 recorded assaults in 2018/19, including physical and nonphysical assaults.

This is an increase compared to 2017/18 when there were at least 5,192 assaults.

In some cases ambulance staff were attacked with knives and clubs - and there were at least 71 sexual assaults.

Ambulance staff in London were assaulted 698 times, North West staff were assaulted 363 times, Northern Ireland staff 452 times, South Central ambulance staff 198 times and West Midlands staff 1,066 times.

South Western ambulance staff were assaulted 614 times while the North East ambulance service staff 535 times. East of England ambulance service staff were assaulted 1,295 times while in Scotland there were 269 assaults.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “It’s horrific that ambulance workers face increasing abuse and violence in the line of duty. This should never be part of the job.

“These assaults can cause long-term physical and mental harm. Courts must take advantage of new laws and give attackers stiffer jail terms. Employers and the government also must do more to prevent assaults and protect staff.”