Assaults on ambulance crews over Christmas and New Year doubled from previous year Assaults against ambulance staff doubled between Christmas and New Year compared with the previous year. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said the concerned about a continued rise in assaults against its staff. Between Christmas and New Year, SWASFT staff reported 50 incidents of violence and aggression from patients and other members of the public. Of these incidents, 16 were physical assaults on staff. This represents a stark 85 per cent rise in incidents and double the number of assaults from 2019. On Christmas day a crew responded to a patient holding a kitchen knife whose car collided with the ambulance as he tried to leave the scene.
South Western Ambulance Service Trust ambulance ATTACKS on paramedics have rocketed with crews threatened with knives and baseball bats. Shocking figures released today by the South Western Ambulance Service Trust reveal there were 1,584 attacks in 2020, a rise of 64 per cent on the previous year. Staff suffered 50 incidents of violence and aggression between Christmas Eve and New Year s Day. This is 85 per cent higher than the same period in 2019. And incidents included a a crew being confronted by a man with a knife on Christmas Day. His car then collided with the ambulance as he tried to leave the scene. Another crew responding to an incident were threatened with a baseball bat by a motorist. A female paramedic was also assaulted while attending an incident.