JUST one person was jailed last year for assaulting a south west ambulance staff member.

Shocking statistics show that in 2017/18 staff working for South Western Ambulance Service were subjected to 142 attacks.

Just 36 cases were pursued by the police, according to figures obtained by the GMB union. Six perpetrators were given a police caution, four were told to take part in the restorative justice scheme and seven were detained under the Mental Health Act.

Four perpetrators were fined by the courts – with fines totalling just £1,080. Another two were given community or rehab orders by magistrates. And just one perpetrator was given jail sentence, sent to prison for 16 weeks.

GMB called the prosecution rate in the south west “unacceptably low”. Paul Gage, the union’s NHS regional organiser, asked: “What does kind of message does it send to our overstretched and overworked ambulance staff that whether your kicked, beaten or assaulted in any way there is a 99.7 per cent chance that the attacker will not see adequate justice.

“As lone working becomes more common and cuts to services bite, ambulance workers are increasingly vulnerable to violence in the line of duty.”

The union has backed moves by MPs to introduce tougher sentences for those found guilty of assaulting emergency service workers.

The Assaults on Emergency Service Workers Bill, introduced by Labour MP Chris Bryant, would introduce a new offence of assaulting an emergency worker and assaulting a police officer, firefighter or ambulance crew would be ruled an aggravating factor when the courts came to sentence guilty parties. The bill will be debated by MPs on Friday.

The GMB’s Paul Gage said: “Changing the law will be an important first step as current sentences aren’t providing an adequate deterrent.”

South Western Ambulance Service say that they take a zero-tolerance approach to any abuse aimed at its staff. A spokeswoman said: “Our staff play a vital role in serving the community by delivering high quality care to all patients and they should be able to fulfil their life-saving role without fear of abuse or assault.

“The trust has worked hard to encourage all incidents to be reported and supports all staff to take action against their assailants, although we recognise that very often staff do not want to take any further action against the perpetrator.”