ST GEORGE and Sutherland Shire paramedics are fed up with being spat at, bitten, kicked, threatened and punched.
Seven assaults on paramedics have been recorded across the region since January this year.
Gary Wilson, the secretary of Emergency Medical Service Protection Association (EMSPA) NSW, which represent paramedics, said seven assaults in this area was too many.
‘‘It’s time this matter is taken seriously and EMSPA will work hard with Ambulance to better protect paramedics,’’ he said.
A paramedic who asked not to be named said she had become extremely cautious after being dragged from an ambulance a few years ago.
‘‘I was already very cautious about my own safety, but I didn’t even see the assault coming,’’ she said.
‘‘Most paramedics either know someone who has been assaulted or have been assaulted themselves.’’
It was revealed in May that NSW paramedics had experienced three times more physical and verbal assaults than during the same period the previous year. There were 52 separate incidents of physical or verbal assault across the state, compared with 16 in the same period last year.
The majority of cases involved people who were intoxicated or drug affected.
NSW Ambulance Service chief executive Ray Creen reiterated his zero tolerance approach towards violence against paramedics and said that under no circumstances would the organisation tolerate any form of violence, whether it was verbal or physical.
‘‘Our paramedics are on the road to assist people at a time of medical need, often in critical, emergency situations,’’ he said.
‘‘To assault a paramedic in the course of their work is not only unfair, it’s a low and unconscionable act, which can cause not just physical injury but has the potential for long-term emotional impact.’’
A new anti-violence campaign, ‘‘If You Hurt a Paramedic’’, was launched in December by NSW Ambulance and ClubsNSW to show the ‘‘two sides’’ of paramedics.
Images will be placed in licensed venues, emergency departments and ambulances.
Under the Health Services Act 1997, it is an offence to intentionally obstruct or hinder a paramedic providing services to a person and can result in a maximum penalty of two years’ jail.
UNACCEPTABLE
Paramedic assaults
January 25: En route to St George Hospital a patient threatened to stab a paramedic.
January 26: A paramedic is spat in the face/eyes at Arncliffe.
January 27: A patient kicks a paramedic in the abdomen at Bexley North.
May 4: A paramedic is spat on in St George Hospital’s emergency department.
July 11: A paramedic is bitten on the arm at Arncliffe.
July 16: A patient bites a paramedic on the finger at Oyster Bay.
October 2: A paramedic is pushed in the chest and kicked at Sylvania.
Have you seen paramedics being assaulted?
