The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has revealed that time-wasting idiots lured one of their life-saving crews to hoax 999 call before being pelted with missiles.
The sickening incident happened in Oxgangs, Edinburgh, on 20th November, after the Service received a hoax call for a cardiac arrest.
When a crew were dispatched to the scene, the vehicle was hit with a number of unknown objects.
Thankfully, neither of the life-saving medics in the emergency ambulance were injured.
The SAS also said that there had been several incidents where call handlers have been verbally abused and staff members spat at.
A spokesperson for the service said:
‘The Service has a range of measures in place to help protect staff, such as training in managing aggression and assessing risk, and areas where staff have previously faced violence or threatening behaviour are taken into consideration and communicated to attending crews.
‘However assaults against staff leave a lasting effect, and as we come into the party season, it’s more important than ever to raise awareness of the issues.’
The Scottish Government has also recently launched a campaign to tackle attacks against front-line staff.
Their Health Worker Respect Campaign has been produced to help reduce levels of violent and abusive behaviour experienced by health and social care workers following increased demands on NHS services due to the Covid pandemic.
It also aims to raise awareness of the challenges staff face and the consequences of inappropriate behaviour on staff members.
Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said:
“Assaults and anti-social behaviour are completely unacceptable, and our staff should not have to fear for their safety when treating patients, or to be verbally-assaulted over the phone when handling calls.
“They work incredibly hard, helping people in need and keeping them safe, and sadly, we’ve seen incidents occur in other parts of the NHS and against our police and fire colleagues too.
“We also provide support to staff to report incidents to Police Scotland, so that they can take the matter further.”
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