West Midlands Ambulance Service Statement

On 30th August 2006 an ambulance from south Birmingham raced to an emergency call with blue lights flashing and sirens wailing, to treat a patient suffering an epileptic fit.

Nothing unusual about that you may think - a hard working ambulance crew doing what they do best - trying to save lives.

When the ambulance crew arrived at its destination, they were met by a group of youths.

One of the group assaulted the ambulance crew, inflicting an arm injury and a badly bruised shin.

This is just one example of an alarming rise in physical attacks on ambulance staff taking place across the country. The potential for serious injury to ambulance crews is now all too real, with assaults against ambulance staff numbering over 1,100 last year (2005-06), meaning one in 29 frontline ambulance staff now risk a serious assault of some description.

The youth involved in this particular incident received a jail sentence of four months, after he was convicted of two counts of common assault on the ambulance crew, one count of common assault on a police officer and one count of resisting arrest.

West Midlands Ambulance Service condemn all acts of violence and aggression committed against its staff and those employed in the wider NHS. Ambulance staff care for everyone's emergency medical needs and should not have to endure violence or harassment as part of their work.

West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, is very clear on the Trust's actions in the event of a staff member being assaulted:

"Violence and aggression towards ambulance staff is completely unacceptable. This Trust upholds a 'Zero Tolerance' approach to such behaviour, which means that the Trust will do its utmost to ensure the full weight of the law is brought to bear on any individual who, physically or verbally, attacks our crews. It is simply not right that our staff should be in fear while trying to go about their job. I am sure the vast majority of the public would support us in rejecting this sort of action and would join with us to tackle this anti-social issue".