The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives has launched a new campaign to highlight the profound impact that abuse on the everyday lives of ambulance staff is having.
Seeking to encourage the minority of people who might commit these offences to have respect for the people who are trying to help them, their friends and families when they need it most, the campaign has highlighted a number of statistics which show how regularly NHS ambulance staff have been attacked while on duty.
Every day last year, a staggering 32 ambulance staff were abused or attacked – more than one during every hour of every day throughout the whole year: a total of 11,749 staff.
According to the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, this was an increase of 4,060 incidents over the last five years.
The most significant rise covered the initial period of the pandemic in 2020 when assaults jumped up by 23 per cent compared with the year before. They included kicking, slapping, head-butting and verbal abuse, and ranged from common assault to serious attacks involving knives and weapons.
The new #WorkWithoutFear campaign features several staff from all over the country who have been the victims of assault, including West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics Deena Evans and Michael Hipgrave, who saw their attacker jailed for nine years after he stabbed them as they went to help him.
Daren Mochrie, chair of the AACE, said: “Unfortunately, ambulance staff face the possibility of violence, assault and aggression every time they start a shift. When they occur, these attacks have a significant and lasting impact on the team member, affecting every aspect of their life. Despite that, ambulance staff continue to turn up for work to help and serve their local communities.
“We hope this campaign raises awareness of the impact of this behaviour on individuals, emphasises that it is totally unacceptable in any form and ensures that our staff are treated with the respect they deserve. The Assaults on Emergency Workers Offences Act 2018 legislation is in place, but we must now see the judiciary consistently using that to issue the most appropriate sentences to those found guilty of committing these appalling crimes.”
Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said: “Ambulance staff consistently go above and beyond to ensure people get the help they need in times of emergencies, and have been at the forefront of the country’s response to the covid pandemic. The vast majority of patients and the public show nothing but respect and thanks for the skilled care they receive, but the unacceptable actions of a small minority have a massive impact on the professional and personal lives of our ambulance colleagues.
“We should all have the right to work without fear of violence and threats, so I am pleased to support this important campaign as part of our wider NHS violence prevention and reduction work to protect staff wherever they work.”
