Paramedics to wear cameras to stop attacks
It's hoped the body cameras will help prevent thousands of attacks each year
NHS paramedics in England are going to wear body cameras to try and stop thousands of attacks each year.
Even as NHS workers were being widely praised during the pandemic, paramedics were still being attacked when attending emergency call-outs.
Data from the NHS in England showed that 3,569 ambulance staff reported being assaulted in 2020/21 – a 32% rise from five years previously.
It is hoped that staff will feel safer wearing the equipment, which they can turn on with the press of a button.
Cameras rolled out after pilot
Paramedics and other frontline ambulance staff in London and the North East have been trialling the use of the cameras.
After the successful pilot, the NHS is rolling out body cams to frontline ambulance staff across the country in a bid to curb violence against staff.
Medics will wear the cameras and be able to press a button to start recording if patients or the public became aggressive or abusive, with filming made available to police where needed.
The trials also showed that the cameras can assist in de-escalating situations where staff are faced with someone being aggressive towards them, the NHS said.
Paramedic: "These cameras are needed"
Emergency Ambulance Crew member Gary Watson, who works for London Ambulance Service in Croydon, was violently assaulted by a drunk patient in 2018 while on duty.
Mr Watson suffered a torn ligament and serious injuries to his face, throat and neck in the attack.
Two other medics were also injured and a fourth badly shaken. A man was convicted, receiving a suspended sentence.
Mr Watson, who was part of the trial assessing the use of the body cams, said: “These cameras are needed, and wearing one makes me feel safer. They act as a deterrent and will also help provide evidence if there is an attack.
“We go to work to help people, not to be assaulted. It’s disgusting that a minority think it’s OK to behave in such a violent way.”