Assaults on ambulance crews over Christmas and New Year rise

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said the concerned about a continued rise in assaults against its staff.

Between Christmas and New Year, SWASFT staff reported 50 incidents of violence and aggression from patients and other members of the public.

Of these incidents, 16 were physical assaults on staff. This represents a stark 85 per cent rise in incidents and double the number of assaults from 2019.

On Christmas day a crew responded to a patient holding a kitchen knife whose car collided with the ambulance as he tried to leave the scene.

Another crew was threatened with a baseball bat by a motorist. One female paramedic was also assaulted while attending an incident.

Paramedic Mike Jones, who was appointed SWASFT’s violence reduction lead in November said he is concerned by the rise in violence over the festive period.

Mike Jones

“These incidents included our control room colleagues being verbally abused, and our ambulance crews being threatened, kicked, pushed, punched, spat at and subjected to other inappropriate behaviour,” he said.

“It is unacceptable to abuse and assault our staff, and it must stop.”

“Our people are being verbally abused, threatened, kicked, pushed, punched, spat at and subjected to other inappropriate behaviour. "

Read our latest report about a concerning rise in assaults against our staff: https://t.co/WtKwJ2Ourm pic.twitter.com/tIDPTuhsot

— South Western Ambulance Service (@swasFT) January 20, 2021

Paramedics Stuart Brookes and James Hubbart were verbally abused and spat at by a patient who claimed to have coronavirus during an incident in Bristol in November.

The offender was sentenced to a total of 40 weeks in prison.

Ambulance staff reported a total of 1,584 violence and aggression incidents during 2020, up 64 per cent compared to 2019.

Three ambulance responders and a police officer were also assaulted by a female patient while attending an incident in Chippenham on January 9.

A woman was prosecuted on January 13 after punching a male paramedic in the stomach during an incident in Westbury, Wiltshire in May 2020.

A SWASFT spokesman said: “Sadly our people experience violence and aggression every day while they are trying to protect and save people’s lives.

“This is unacceptable and can have serious consequences on them, their families and colleagues. It can also delay or even prevent us from treating those who really need our care.”