Violence and abuse against paramedics and emergency call handlers is on the rise, with reported cases up by more than a third since 2019, the BBC has found. Almost 45,000 assaults were recorded by ambulance services across England over the last five years, with staff saying they had been punched, kicked, threatened with weapons and subjected to racist, homophobic and religious abuse.
Paramedic Nutan Patel-West said she had been racially abused “multiple times” while on shift and, during one call-out in 2021, narrowly avoided serious injury after a glass ashtray was hurled at her.
“I’ve been verbally abused, racially abused, punched and had a knife drawn on me,” she said. “On one job a patient said ‘you need to go back to your own country, you’re not welcome here’ before he threw an ashtray at my head. He missed by inches.”
She added: “When you go back out after being abused, it heightens your senses and it just puts the fear into you, especially on night shifts when you don’t know what to expect.”
James Shelley, an emergency call handler, said he was left “shaking” after he was subjected to an 11-minute tirade of homophobic abuse in a call earlier this year.
Natalie Samuels, NWAS’s violence prevention and reduction manager, urged the public to stay calm and respectful when dealing with the emergency services.
Paramedic Lisa Morley, 38, said: “No matter how long you’ve done this job for or in what capacity, at some point you will have been scared.” She added: “Although abuse is happening more often, it’s not every patient. We just try and focus on the good jobs and the help you’re giving.”
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