"Stop the violence": ambos' plea for a safer workplace

REPEATED incidents of violence against paramedics brought an urgent plea from Ambulance Victoria (AV) for patients to show respect to first responders during emergencies. AV reports show there have been 105 reported incidents resulting in injury to paramedics from July 2023 to March 2024 across the state. Recent incidents included a paramedic grabbed and punched in the face by a patient they were treating, a paramedic suffering a dislocation after a patient became aggressive and paramedics harassed and followed by a man outside of a Melbourne hospital, who was threatening to assault them. An AV spokesperson said they were unable to share LGA specific data from the total 105 incidents. Senior North East MICA paramedic Paul Stefaniak said while he has heard of incidents of paramedic violence in the region in the past, there has been no recent issues of improper patient behaviour to his knowledge. AV said paramedics are also often exposed to situations involving verbal assault, swearing and name calling, which can result in paramedics pausing their treatment or withdrawing from the scene or terminating a call. AV executive director Regional Operations, Danielle North, said violence against paramedics is never ok and we do not accept this behaviour as part of the job. “We know emergency situations can be stressful for people, but this is no excuse to behave aggressively towards paramedics,” she said. “We are aware of several serious occupational violence incidents recently across the state and it is timely that we remind the community again that violence against paramedics, first responders and call takers is never ok. “Our top priority is the safety of our paramedics and first responders, and they have our full support to leave an incident if they ever feel unsafe. “Assaulting or berating a paramedic will not help them do their job any quicker.” Injuring an emergency worker in Victoria is a Category 1 offence and carries a mandatory minimum six-month jail sentence. Paramedics are trained in a variety of strategies to assess, manage and de-escalate violent or aggressive scenes, but ideally paramedics shouldn’t need to use these skills. AV is committed to exploring ways to reduce and prevent occupational violence and our people are encouraged to report every instance of this behaviour. For more information on the impact of occupational violence on paramedics and how you can help, visit www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/campaigns/respect-our-paramedics.