PHYSICAL and verbal attacks on paramedics are an everyday problem say West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) bosses.
Last year more than 200 paramedics across the region were attacked while responding to 999 calls.
This has prompted ambulance bosses and trade union leaders to call for tougher sentences for people who attack or abuse staff.
Cases of people who attack frontline staff currently rarely even make it to court.
The campaign called ‘Under Attack’ has seen a number of videos posted online by paramedics who have been threatened by a patient they are trying to help.
In the videos staff report being outnumbered and even being physically punched by patients they are trying to treat.
In a bid to crack down on the issue, WMAS are training their paramedics in conflict resolution.
A spokesman from conflict resolution training group Stand2 said: “These are all essential defensive physical skills that people need in order to keep themselves safe. The ethos of our training quite simply is to avoid situations, but there may be occasions when staff members cannot do that. So they need these essential skills in order to keep themselves safe. That may include emergency control techniques. By definition, it’s a last resort but it may be necessary based on the circumstances.”
Visit www.officialwmas.wordpress.com to watch the videos.
