'Shocking' rise in abuse of ambulance staff

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) says nine incidents of physical or verbal abuse are carried out against staff every day, prompting it to launch a new safety campaign.

The project - How We Treat Each Other Matters - aims to generate respect for workers and underline that aggression towards them will not be tolerated.

The number of violent incidents against UK ambulance staff reached an all-time high in the last 12 months, with 22,536 cases recorded across the 14 services - a rise of 15% on the previous year, with 3,370 incidents in the West Midlands, WMAS said.

"Appropriate actions will be taken when these incidents occur," WMAS head of security and safety Dan Knight said.

Staff from the frontline, control rooms and patient transport services have come together to encourage respect and safety for the WMAS workforce as part of the campaign.

"Everyone deserves to come to work without fear of abuse, aggression or violence from the public," Mr Knight said.

"Whether that be our staff on the frontline, patient transport services staff or those who work in our control rooms.... 3,370 incidents of abuse and violence is 3,370 too many."

Breakdown of incidents by county:

• Hereford and Worcestershire – 341

• Coventry and Warwickshire – 318

• Staffordshire – 462

• Birmingham and the Black Country – 2,051

• Shropshire – 168

• Cheshire patient transport services – 30

The latest figures have prompted Jason Killens, chair of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), to write to ministers responsible for ambulance services to explore what further national policy interventions can be developed to stem the rise in abusive incidents.

"These figures are truly shocking and reflect a pattern of increased violence, aggression and abuse directed at hard-working ambulance people who are there to help people in their times of greatest need," he said.

"Frontline staff as well as call handlers are affected by this horrendous abuse and this unacceptable behaviour has a major long-term impact on the health and wellbeing of ambulance people who are simply trying to do their jobs and help save lives."

He said it was "vital" all available legislation was used to ensure appropriate sentences were handed out consistently to those guilty of "these horrific crimes".

Endorsing the campaign, WMAS chief executive officer, Anthony Marsh, said: "For many staff, this sort of abuse can have a profound impact on their lives with some staff never recovering and actually leaving the service altogether.

"While it is a minority of people who commit these offences, we need the public to support us to make such abuse something that is unacceptable."

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