Attacks on Yorkshire Ambulance staff happen at least every day

The Yorkshire Ambulance service has welcomed a move to give NHS paramedics across England a body camera to wear.

Author: Seb Cheer & Liam ArrowsmithPublished 2nd Jun 2021
Last updated 2nd Jun 2021

The chief executive of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service has revealed attacks on frontline workers at the NHS Trust happen "at least" once a day.

It comes after an announcement that NHS paramedics are going to wear body cameras, to try and stop thousands of attacks each year.

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.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service says it's pleased by the move, but admits it's sad that cases are on the rise.

"It's how things are now"

The NHS Trust's Chief Executive, Nick Smith, says there is at least one report of a paramedic being assaulted in Yorkshire every day.

He added: "Unfortunately, it's how things are now. We're starting to see more assaults against our staff, both physical and verbal attacks on staff. It's such a shame that we're in a situation where we're having to introduce, or at least pilot, the use of video cameras.

"We can say, 'I'm going to video.' We explain that to the patient, so hopefully it will prevent assaults from happening. But if it does happen, it allows us to gain some visual evidence that we can use to prosecute.

"It makes people unsafe, it impacts on their ability to be at work sometimes, it can lead to absence. Even if the member of staff doesn't go absent from work for it, they're going to be off the road for a while, reporting it. That takes the vehicles away from responding to patients who need an ambulance."

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