Ambulance services have been hitting headlines due to the recent report issued by Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) showing that the number of staff assaults on ambulance colleagues across the country is on course to exceed 20,000 incidents before the end of 2024/2025 year.
New data from AACE has revealed that UK ambulance services are on course for the highest rate of reported incidents, hoping that it will help raise awareness of the negative impact of this behaviour on our people.
Anna Parry, MD of AACE 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.
“Our ongoing #WorkWithoutFear campaign is shining a light on this alarming issue and raising awareness of the negative impact of this behaviour on our people, while a significant amount of work is ongoing within ambulance services to help better protect our workforce.”
AACE Head of Operations, Chris Chalmers said, “Our staff come to work to care for others and they should be able to do this without being abused or attacked. This happens to our road-based staff on emergency and urgent care as well as our health advisors and clinicians taking calls in the control room and can be physical, verbal, racial or sexual assault. Our crews should feel valued by those they help and feel safe to carry out their duties.
“We have measures in please to keep our teams safe and reinforce to the public that abuse will not be tolerated including body-worn cameras, vehicle CCTV, issue warning letters, have joint working procedures with police and offer staff wellbeing support through TRiM (trauma risk management) and mental maintenance resources.”
NEAS has seen a rise in reporting which shows that staff are becoming less tolerant to abuse and there is improved confidence from staff to report incidents that occur. On average NEAS receives on average 90 reported violence and aggression incidents per month.
Listen to the interview here www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kbk9gc
Jason Killens, AACE Chair and Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026p47/breakfast-07012025
Story on AACE website https://aace.org.uk/news/violent-incidents-recorded-against-uk-ambulance-staff-on-course-to-exceed-20000-a-year-for-the-first-time-ever/
