Emergency Personnel Experience Increased Attacks and Abuse, BBC Investigation Shows

An investigation by the BBC has revealed a surge in violence and abuse targeting paramedics and emergency call handlers, with reported incidents climbing by over a third since 2019. Ambulance services across England documented nearly 45,000 assaults over the past five years, as staff reported being punched, kicked, threatened with weapons, and subjected to racist, homophobic, and religious abuse. Nutan Patel-West, a 41-year-old paramedic, stated she had endured racial abuse “multiple times” during her shifts. In one specific call-out in 2021, she narrowly avoided serious injury when a glass ashtray was thrown at her. The government affirmed its “zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour” and cautioned that individuals who assault emergency workers could face up to two years in prison. Mrs. Patel-West, who has been employed by the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) for more than a decade, recounted: “I’ve been verbally abused, racially abused, punched and had a knife drawn on me. “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.”I signed up to this job to help people, not this.” The paramedic noted that these experiences had affected her confidence. “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,” she explained. Through Freedom of Information Act requests submitted to every ambulance service in England, the BBC uncovered that 44,926 physical and verbal assaults were recorded against frontline and operations staff between 2019 and 2023. This figure translates to an average of 173 attacks per week across England, although staff in Lancashire and Manchester indicated their belief that such abuse is “underreported.” Mrs. Patel-West commented, “I don’t report every incident because if I was to do that I’d never be away from the computer, sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day.” Over the last four-and-a-half years, NWAS recorded 1,281 physical assaults, 1,192 incidents of verbal abuse and threats, 711 cases of sexual abuse, and 150 cases of racial abuse. James Shelley, a 33-year-old emergency call handler working at an NWAS office in Manchester, reported being left “shaking” after experiencing an 11-minute tirade of homophobic abuse during a call earlier this year. Mr. Shelley stated, “I took a call from a gentleman who’s mother had an itch, he told me to send a taxi and when I reminded him that we were not a taxi service he just started hurling homophobic abuse at me.” He added, “It doesn’t normally faze me, but it was 8am on a week day. I’d been in an hour and he was so aggressive. I was shaking afterwards.” The caller was later identified as Mahinder Singh, 36, from Trafford. In July, at Manchester Magistrates’ Court, he was issued a £500 fine, 100 hours of unpaid work, and a 16-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months. In his victim impact statement, read aloud in court, Mr. Shelley said: “The comments reminded me of slurs and insults I received while I was at school, when I was coming to terms with my sexuality. “This made me feel personally attacked and I don’t think it’s acceptable in this day and age.” Natalie Samuels, NWAS’s violence prevention and reduction manager, urged the public to maintain calm and respect when interacting with emergency services. She stated, “I understand it’s an emotional time when people need an ambulance, but our call handlers have to go through a set of questions to make sure we get the right care to people.” She further requested, “We just ask for the public to stick with the questions and answer them as calmly as they can.” Lisa Morley, a 38-year-old NWAS paramedic, speaking to the BBC in Blackpool, commented that “no matter how long you’ve done this job for or in what capacity at some point you will have been scared.” She also noted, “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.” Further content from BBC Radio Lancashire is available on Sounds, and updates from BBC Lancashire can be followed on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Submissions for story ideas can be sent to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk or via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Copyright for this material is held by BBC, 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC clarifies that it is not accountable for the content found on external websites and provides details on its policy regarding external linking.