Nine ambulance workers attacked last year in Shropshire
Nine ambulance workers were attacked in Shropshire last year, new figures have revealed.
Eight West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics and one technician were attacked. All of these assaults resulted in some sort of injury, but no-one has been prosecuted.
In four of the cases, the member of staff chose not to pursue a conviction, three were down to the patient's mental health and the ambulance service is awaiting clarification on the eighth case from the member of staff.
Meanwhile, Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust reported two physical assaults on its staff in Powys but 11 incidents of verbal abuse. There was one successful prosecution for a physical assault.
Judith Hardisty, director of workforce and organisational development in the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: "Our staff should be able to work without fear of violence, abuse or harassment from any member of the public.
"They are there to help the community's emergency medical needs, and do not need to be obstructed in their duty by unwarranted attacks."
Steve Elliker, West Midlands Ambulance Service's regional head of security and safety, said: "
The trust has a zero tolerance policy in place and works extremely hard to bring the full weight of the law to bear on anyone who attacks our staff. It is simply not acceptable that staff who are there to help people, suffer at the hands of patients, their relatives or other people at the scene. Any type of assault against our staff will not be tolerated."
In response to a steady rise in the number of attacks West Midlands Ambulance Service has started a programme of conflict resolution training to help frontline staff.
Gerard Ellis from Stand2, which is carrying out the training, said: "These are all essential defensive physical skills that people need in order to keep themselves safe."
