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enough. We must ensure there are enough staff to provide a safe working environment.” A North West Ambulance spokeswoman said the area’s high number of red-flagged addresses - more than half of the whole England total – was down to the trust encouraging staff to report all incidents of violence and aggression”.
She added: “We also provide counselling services, mental health support, and support pressing charges.”
Paramedic Amanda Beames, 39, was left mentally and physically scarred after Paulius Zacharovas, 30, threatened to stab her in an ambulance in Manchester last September, saying: “I will kill you.”
He got eight months for assault and battery. In another Manchester incident last November, a paramedic was so violently attacked by 41-year-old patient Paula Kudray she developed PTSD. Intoxicated Kudray punched, kicked, spat at and bit her. She was given a 12-month community order for common assault.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said it was “completely unacceptable” for ambulance staff to be “subject to aggression or violence”.
He said: “We have committed to increasing NHS funding by £20.5billion a year over the next five years, and supporting the workforce will be a key part of the long term plan for the NHS.” North West North East London Yorkshire South East Coast East Midlands South Central Isle of Wight South Western 756 406 115 106 32 20 9 9 6