North West Ambulance Service has launched a campaign to fight the abuse its staff are facing daily.
In only six months, there have been over 1,000 incidents of violence and aggression against emergency workers reported. This is equivalent to 165 per month, or five assaults each day.
Whilst the number of reported incidents is high, it does not include those which go unreported. Former detective Natalie Samuels is leading this campaign with the aim of making sure no abuse is ignored or unnoticed.
Natalie has previously made significant impact as head of violence prevention reduction and security. She worked with 111 colleagues over the summer to educate on the importance of reporting physical and verbal abuse. This caused an increase in incident reports by 500%.
She said: “Our service users need to be aware that they can’t hide behind the phone, verbal abuse is not okay, and you can be prosecuted. We also want to raise awareness and educate staff that any form of abuse should not be accepted and only by reporting these incidents can these offenders be punished for their abuse.”
With these initiatives being introduced to 999 call centres, it plans to improve reporting culture and make the public aware of the consequences that will occur if you abuse staff.
Natalie has also expanded her team through the North West to include Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, and Merseyside. Through the appointing of new violence prevention and reduction specialist practitioners, the belief is that the high levels of abuse will slowly decrease.
These new specialists will provide advice and encourage staff to report incidents of abuse. They aim to educate staff on wearing body cameras, alongside risk mapping repeat offenders and implement strategies to prevent future offences.
Natalie added: “Tackling violence requires a community approach. Together, we can implement prevention strategies that protect emergency workers and foster safer environments.”
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Featured image (c) Hannah Towler
