Assaults on South Central Ambulance Service staff reach five year high with incidents of staff being "punched" and "kicked"
An investigation has revealed that attacks on ambulance staff in the region has reached a five-year-high, including incidents where the have been punched and kicked.
More than 4,000 staff at South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) have experienced verbal and physical abuse while undertaking their jobs since 2019. The investigation by Legal Expert shows that incidents are on the rise with 44 per cent increase in attacks in 2023/24 compared to 2019/2020.
The shocking figures are alarming even if just looking at last year alone. The SCAS has 105 incidents logged of staff being punched and grabbed, 34 separate incidents where staff were kicked, and 23 incidents of sexual assault. A further 286 incidents of verbal abuse and 275 counts of threatening behaviour towards staff were also reported.
Patrick Mallon, a Legal Expert solicitor, believes more needs to be done to protect NHS staff. He said: “These figures are extremely concerning. Nobody should have to feel threatened at work - especially hard-working, vital NHS staff. Something must be done to tackle abuse towards NHS staff who are just trying to do their jobs.”
The upward trend does not appear to be stopping with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) stating that UK ambulance services are on course to report the “highest ever rate of violent, aggressive and abusive incidents against staff.”
Nationally, there were 11,817 incidents of violence, aggression and abuse against UK ambulance staff in the six months leading up to September 2024, according to AACE. The organisation now expects incidents to top 20,000 for the first time across the 14 ambulance services.
Anna Parry, managing director of AACE, is concerned the rise in violence will push people away from the job. She said: “These new figures highlight the upsetting fact that ambulance employees face the very real possibility of being subject to violence or abuse each time they start a shift.
“This can have a significant and lasting impact on wellbeing and sometimes even lead to people leaving the ambulance service.”