The number of assaults on Scotland’s paramedics has gone up by more than a quarter since 2005, with 2014s figures reaching a ten year high according to figures from STV. 

The statistics show that there has been a 27% increase in the number of verbal and physical attacks on members of the Scottish Ambulance service since 2005. The attacks, which range from verbal abuse to aggravated assault. In 2005, 249 paramedics were attacked in some way. However, this increased to 316 in 2014. The West of Scotland saw the largest increase in attacks with figures rising from 99 attacks in 2005 to 151 in the last year. 

Increasing Trend

The Scottish Ambulance Service expressed concern that the number of assaults on drivers seemed to be increasing over time and noted that the main reason for an attack was when a patient was intoxicated. The service also said that while they would try and support their staff, the emphasis was on the public to ensure that incidents were kept to a minimum. They stated that any offenders would be prosecuted. 

Unison's David Forbes said: "The real difficulty I think is that within society as a whole there seems to be a dislocation of increasing numbers of people who, for whatever reason, don't feel part of society and think it's not inappropriate to hit people that are trying to help them".

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