7 January 2025
A rise in violence against ambulance staff, who are on the frontline to care for and help others in their time of urgent need, is ‘abhorrent, deplorable and a violation of the respect they deserve’.
That’s the message from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in response to new data showing ambulance services across the UK are on course to report the highest ever rate of violent, aggressive and abusive incidents against their staff.
The data, released today (7 January 2025) by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), which represents the leaders of 14 Ambulance Trusts, reveals at the current rate, more than 20,000 incidents of violence are expected to occur in the 2024-25 financial year.
AACE says reported incidents include kicking, punching, slapping, head-butting, spitting, verbal abuse and sexual assault, as well as serious attacks involving weapons.
The AACE data shows:
Responding, Dr Adrian Boyle President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “The scale of violence our ambulance and paramedic colleagues are facing on the front line is completely unacceptable.
“It’s abhorrent, deplorable and a violation of the respect they deserve.
“It should be remembered that these are ordinary people doing extraordinary, often lifesaving, work.
“They are mums, dads, brothers, sisters – who every day put on their uniforms and go to work with the sole purpose of helping people.
“They should not have to live in fear that the next call will result in them ending up needing urgent care themselves.
“Abuse of any kind, towards any healthcare worker, in any setting, must not be tolerated, called out and reported. And those responsible must be appropriately punished.
“Our colleague – and everyone else – should feel safe going to work – not fearing being attacked just for doing their job.”
