“He pushed me back towards the ambulance. It was quite frightening. He had two of his friends behind him so we were outnumbered three to two. He hit me on my chest because I managed to move out of the way – and three times. It’s at that point, where things start to get a little bit out of hand like that, they you need to think about pushing your emergency button on your radio.
This is a paramedic’s graphic description of how he was attacked by a bystander after having been called to tend to a patient in a car park. Sadly, his experience is not rare; attacks on staff are an everyday occurrence.
The ‘Under Attack’ campaign highlights the problems faced by operational medics, ambulance bosses and trade union leaders who are now calling for tougher sentences for those people who attack and abuse ambulance staff.
The number of ambulance workers being attacked, verbally abused or threatened while doing their job continues to be a ‘real concern’ with over 200 cases reported last year.
Watch Paramedic Andy Allsopp:
Follow the progress of the campaign on Twitter and Facebook:@officialwmas