By Lindsey Mussett
Evening Gazette
TEESIDE, England — People at dozens of Teesside homes may face delays in getting emergency medical help following attacks on ambulance staff.
Paramedics are being warned against visiting certain homes “red-flagged” as danger zones due to past incidents. A list of nearly 700 “high-risk” addresses across the North-east shows homes deemed too dangerous for emergency workers to visit without a police escort.
The North East Ambulance Service figures reveal the widespread scale of violent attacks on paramedics that have prompted 999 workers to draw up a list of no-go areas.
The service has listed 526 North-east addresses with a “cautionary” flag where ambulance staff have been targeted with non-physical abuse while tending to victims. And there are 165 properties which have been branded with a “violence” flag after physical attacks were reported. A total of 53 Teesside addresses have “cautionary” status. And 14 have a “violence” flag attached to them —meaning they are no-go areas for ambulance staff without a police escort.
Trevor Johnstone, union Unison’s lead officer for health, said the safety of emergency workers should be a top priority. He added: “The protection of ambulance staff is paramount. “The statistics over the past 10 years show year-on-year increases in attacks on NHS workers and ambulance staff. Members of the public may be at risk but there would be additional problems if a worker is attacked and has to be taken off duty.
“It’s the individuals at these addresses that are the problem. Many others suffer as a result of their actions and the cost of caring for ambulance workers comes from the public purse.”
A North East Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “Flagging an address allows us to warn a crew about what they may encounter. In some instances, the police may be asked to attend with us. It very much depends on the circumstances of each individual call.” There was “absolutely no justification” for attacking people who are trying to help, she said, and procedures are inplace for staff to report assaults to police.
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