(^130) Hampshire Life: February 2019
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OPINION
Writer and journalist, Alice Cooke shares
her opinions on the latest news stories
T
owards the end of 2018
it was reported that
attacks on ambulances
(both verbal and
physical) are now rife, and items
including (but by no means
restricted to) fireworks, wheelie
bins, knives and scooters have all
been used to attack ambulances
at some point during the last
three years.
How deplorable, you’re
no doubt thinking, what
could possibly motivate
someone to launch a tirade
of abuse or indeed missiles at
paramedics, who could not
have more transparently caring
intentions? And yet more than
200 acts of vandalism were
reported between October
2015 and October 2018, some
also featuring special guest
appearances from metal poles
and bricks.
As a result, NHS trusts have
had to shell out thousands to
repair damage; as well as taking
ambulances off the road.
The number of such incidents
involving ambulance workers
in England has almost trebled
from 52 in 2012-13 to 145 in
2017-18. Figures from eight of
the 10 NHS regional ambulance
services in England show a total
of 662 physical and verbal sexual
assaults between April 2012 and
February 2018, with the annual
number rising year-on-year over
that period.
And if none of this is quite
registering on your shock or
disdain radar yet, you might
perhaps be interested to hear
about incidents of this nature
happening right here in
Hampshire.
In December of last year, two
teenage girls were arrested after
ambulance crews were pelted
with what was described at the
time as a “barrage” of bricks,
glass and furniture, as they
attended what turned out to be a
hoax call. Paramedics were sent
by South Central Ambulance
Service (SCAS) to a house in
Eastleigh, where they had been
told – falsely – that someone
inside was in cardiac arrest.
As they arrived at the home in
the early hours of the evening,
the items were thrown at them,
leaving the team “extremely
shaken” by their own admission,
and forcing them to call the
police.
Paul Jefferies, assistant
director of operations at SCAS,
told Hampshire Life: “Staff in the
two vehicles that arrived at the
property were met with a barrage
of bricks, glass, plastic tables and
chairs and other items which
were being thrown at them from
the upstairs windows of the
property.
“The staff immediately
requested assistance from
Hampshire police who were
required to help gain access
to the property where it was
confirmed there was no patient
inside.”
Feels a little closer to home
now, no? Simply put, actions like
these put other people’s lives
in danger – the original staff
sent to this location, along with
additional SCAS staff who had to
provide them with support and
check their physical and mental
wellbeing, would have been
unable to respond to patients in
the local area who had dialled
999 with genuine emergencies
around that time. And for what?
To what end? Why?
Ambulance staff have
described how patients have
subjected them to sexual
harassment, indecent exposure
and sexual assault, leaving
them traumatised and fearful.
Currently, vandalism causing
up to £5,000 worth of damage
carries a maximum sentence
of three months in prison. The
government recently increased
the maximum jail term for
anyone assaulting ambulance
staff from six to 12 months. But
clearly that isn’t enough of a
deterrent – and it does all beg the
question, why is it happening in
the first place?
Boredom? Alcohol or substance
abuse? I have no basis for either
of these arguments and am
very much clutching at straws,
but beyond these what reasons
can there possibly be for such
behaviour? And how can these
reasons be addressed and the
problem tackled? I am honestly
at a loss to explain this, but it
is so utterly unacceptable that
something must be done.
Our ambulance crews are under
attack, but what can be done?
In an
emergency
Photo: Andreas Rodriguez / Getty Images Plus
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