Ambulance staff suffer an average of seven attacks or assaults per month

A place of safety for patients, ambulances are all too often the scene of attacks on paramedics according to data released by the National Ambulance Service. File picture: Denis Minihane

There have been more than 170 cases of abuse or assault on ambulance staff over the past two years with physical assaults, threats and intimidation, and a sexual assault all reported.

Figures from the National Ambulance Service (NAS) reveal how serious incidents were being reported at the rate of around seven per month during 2020 and 2021.

The data shows there were 41 cases of direct physical assault on staff working in ambulance services around the country during the two-year period.

A further 29 cases of verbal assault were logged, as well as 28 instances of direct intimidation or threats against emergency personnel. 

The NAS also registered: 

• 17 cases of verbal harassment;  
• 15 cases of physical harassment;  
• Six cases of sexual harassment;  
• One instance of sexual assault.

Also listed in a database of serious incidents were five cases where a person was reported to be “non-compliant, obstructive, [or] rude”.

The ambulance service reported four other cases of emotional abuse, four instances of bullying, and three incidents of physical abuse.

There were four other incidents where the patient was reported to have engaged in “unintentional aggressive behaviour” according to records released under Freedom of Information (FOI).

There were two cases of a person banging themselves against hard surfaces such as a wall or ambulance furniture.

A case of “aggression towards [an] inanimate object” was also listed by the ambulance service, as well as four incidents that were categorised as miscellaneous. Other incidents logged on the database include:

• One instance of attempted suicide; 
• One incident where a person absconded or went missing; 
• Seven cases classified as “neglect”.

The number of assaults and threats on staff was down slightly last year when there were 83 cases reported to the ambulance service.

That figure declined slightly from the 90 incidents that were logged in 2021.

The data also reveals how assaults and abuse were more likely to take place in certain months, with higher numbers in summer and in January, when services tend to be at their busiest.

Peak months for incidents

An analysis reveals that 44 of all the 174 incidents logged took place in July or August of either year, while there was an average of 11 cases reported in each of January and April of 2020 and 2021.

The number of incidents was much lower in other months, with less than five incidents a month in February, June, November, and December of both years.

A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said any attacks on personnel, or any frontline worker, was unacceptable under any circumstances.

“It should be noted that these assaults are treated with the seriousness they deserve, and the NAS in particular will use every avenue available to them to ensure their staff safety is protected at all times," she said.