Monday 19th February 2018 – 11.00am – Claire Brown.
A woman who left a vile note on an ambulance yesterday in Stoke-on-Trent has been arrested by the police on suspicion of public order offences
The ambulance crew responded to a 999 call to reports of a patient with breathing difficulties at an address in the Tunstall area of Stoke-on-Trent shortly after 11.00am on Sunday (18th February).
The crew returned to their vehicle to take their patient to hospital to find an abusive note had been left on their windscreen which read: “If this van is for anyone but Number 14 then you have no right to be parked here. I couldn’t give a **** if the whole street collapsed now move your van from outside my house.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “As a Trust we welcome Staffordshire Police’s swift response to this incident and the arrest of the woman. We will continue to work closely with the police to ensure the perpetrator feels the full weight of the law.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy towards people who abuse our staff whilst trying to help patients in their hour of need. It is completely unacceptable and it must stop.
“As the vast majority of the public will appreciate, in our line of work the patient must always come first and therefore the nature of the job means we do sometimes have to park over a driveway or block a vehicle in. If your loved one needed an ambulance, I’m sure you’d want an ambulance to park as close to them as possible to prevent a delay in their care.
“After previous notes were left on our ambulances last year, we’ve received unimaginable support from the public for which we are immensely grateful. Sadly, as this ambulance crew discovered yesterday, there are unfortunately still a handful of narrow-minded individuals who consider leaving vile abusive notes acceptable.”
ENDS
Unforgivable.. The work you do is completely amazing!! You are all special people doing a fantastic service and not only saving lives but you are the first to go towards danger to help others. You should not have to deal with threats or demoralising notes like this! You just keep doing what you are doing… the majority of decent people definitely think you are brilliant and you should not have to explain where you need to park and when!! I feel also sorry that your patient has such awful people as neighbours but for you to have to face it and other incidents including physical violence is just terrible … Wishing the best for the patient and a severe penalty for the awful neighbour….
Thank you Chris
Glad to see such a rapid police response, please keep us informed of the outcome. In the meantime can I say thank you for everything that you and your colleagues do to help us .
Thank you David
Thank You for your service.
We have the best health care and the best health care staff from the ground up on the planet. I know this first hand. If not for these dedicated,professionals, I wouldn’t be here to comment. It makes me so angry when some poorly educated moron tries to make their job more difficult. The same moron that would expect them to respond immediately should they themselves need immediate medical assistance. Fortunately the vast majority of us appreciate the sacrifices these professionals make in order to carry out their work. Thank you to the men and women of the Ambulance Service and all who work in the NHS.
Give this individual a taste of another British Institution. The one that doesn’t say please!!
Thank you Colin
Just so glad this disgusting abuse is being recognised for what it is, finally! You guys are amazing, remember that x
Thank you Helen
I feel very sad to read that yet again selfish individuals are thinking about their needs and not careing about others.if they are so concerned about going out why not get a taxi or bus it wont hurt for once.we dont have the right to be unkind and vile to others especially our emergency services .we as a family appreciate you all very. Ps regards to the staff who have been hurt
Thank you Olwen
Not good of course but maybe a moment to think about the North Staffordshire Regiment’s reputation for ‘robust’ language in WW1 (see Wiki). My grandfather, from Blythe Bridge, was one of them.
Hi Nigel…thanks for your comment, but we don’t think that it is ever appropriate to verbally abuse our staff.
The work you do is beyond price Let’s hope this stupid, inconsiderate person gets what they deserve.
It is heartening to know that the police are prepared to deal swiftly with this sort of abuse in the support of the vital work that you offer us all. It is equally heartening to know that the author of the note will now have to examine her conscience and selfish attitudes, whatever the result of the enquiry. I am not a fan of public shaming but this has been handled appropriately and professionally.
Definitely a mean-spirited note but should this really be considered a criminal offense? Someone hurt your feelings with a note, boohoo better call Big Brother.
Hi Michael…thanks for your comment, but it appears you have misunderstood – she was convicted of being verbally abusive towards the crew, not for leaving a vile note on the ambulance. As for whether that is a criminal offence? The court thought so.
Michael, being verbally abusive is a criminal offence under Section 4 and Section 5 of the Public Order Act. It is most definitely a criminal offence.
The staff at WMAS go above and beyond to save lives. They deserve to be treated as the heroes they truly are.
I’m not sure if commenting on a comment is appropriate but I feel pretty ashamed when a human being can be so obtuse as to even attempt to defend another human being who feels the need to verbally abuse Emergency Response Personnel who may well be at that very moment, trying to save a life. The deed itself is outrageous and the defence of the individual who carried out that deed is despicable. I’ve heard it said that “what goes around, comes around”. Well let’s hope so.