Rise in attacks on ambulance crews
Last updated 12th Feb 2021
Figures from the ambulance service which covers Dorset show a rise in attacks against staff.
147 incidents were recorded last month - that's more than four a day.
51 of the cases were verbal abuse, 37 were aggressive behaviour and 31 were physical assaults.
South Western Ambulance Service says it'll do "whatever is necessary" to protect staff.
A man was jailed for six months on 28 January following his assault on Paramedic Matt Bryant who was called to treat him.
Matt said: “The male was extremely aggressive towards me and my crew mate. So we backed off to request police attendance. Then he slammed the passenger door of the ambulance onto my foot.
“I was taken to hospital and X-rayed, and ligament damage was diagnosed. I was unable to put any weight on the foot for a week, and I was off work for a month.
“We are working so hard to help people during a global pandemic. But assaults are becoming more of a regular occurrence, and they have a significant impact on us.
“I spent almost 10 years working as a prison officer, and the levels of aggression towards ambulance staff are almost at the same level.
“I'm thankful that the criminal justice system has taken my assault seriously.”
SWASFT staff reported 1,584 violence and aggression incidents against them during 2020, up 64% compared to 2019.
Paramedic Mike Jones, who is SWASFT’s Violence Reduction Lead, said: “Sadly our people continue to be attacked and abused every day while they are serving the communities of the South West and saving lives.
“We are also seeing regular occurrences of members of the public spitting at our staff and weaponising coronavirus.
“Any such incident can have a serious and lasting impact on them, their families and loved ones.
“It is unacceptable to abuse and attack our staff, and we won’t tolerate it.
“We take whatever is necessary to protect our people from harm, including doing all we can to ensure offenders are prosecuted through the criminal justice system.
“Please respect our people, and help them to help you.”