Paramedics report more than 22,000 abuse incidents.
The ambulance trust responsible for Milton Keynes paramedic crews is backing new calls for greater protection for their staff.
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is supporting the calls made today by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives for further national policy interventions to help combat the growing number of violent assaults against ambulance workers in the UK.
In the last year (April 2024 to March 2025), the highest rate of reported incidents of violence, aggression and abuse – 22,536 – was recorded against ambulance service staff. That’s an increase of almost 15% on the previous year.
Incidents reported included kicking, punching, slapping, head-butting, spitting, verbal abuse and sexual assault, and ranged from common assault to significant serious attacks involving an assortment of weapons.
Within the South Central region, there were an average of 95 incidents recorded every month, which means that at least three members of staff are being abused or attacked every day.
“Unfortunately, we know that staff out on the road and in our control room face unacceptable physical and verbal abuse every day, and we wholeheartedly support AACE’s calls for more action to address this rising problem,” said Kirsten Willis-Drewett, assistant director of operations at SCAS.
“We have worked with our local police forces to secure convictions against people who have attacked our staff and current legislation can see such perpetrators jailed for up to two years.
“As well as providing our staff with body worn cameras, and additional training to keep themselves safe when dealing with challenging situations or behaviours, we offer our staff a range of support should they be the victims of verbal or physical abuse. But with the numbers of such attacks now at record levels, more action at a national level is needed.”
Shock new data shows that most incidents of violence and aggression were reported during the summer months, with 6,093 reported. Alcohol is the most prominent factor in assaults against ambulance staff, followed by drugs and people in mental health crisis. Race and sexuality have also increased as exacerbating factors in these assaults.
As a result of the escalation in violence and abusive incidents, SCAS and all NHS ambulance services have prioritised the safety of its people and are undertaking several initiatives including:
- Dedicated violence prevention teams
- Introduction of body worn video cameras
- Establishment of centrally coordinated violence dataset for reporting and analysis
- A successful ‘restrictive interventions’ training programme for staff to protect themselves and their patients
- Counselling and other forms of talking therapy and support for staff who have been subject to violence and aggression
Find out more about the AACE anti-violence campaign at: www.aace.org.uk/vaa.
