Recent statistics highlight a troubling rise in abuse directed at ambulance personnel in Scotland, raising serious concerns
Glasgow: It’s really concerning to see the new stats about abuse aimed at ambulance staff in Scotland. The reports show some pretty shocking incidents, like spitting and even physical attacks.
Verbal abuse has shot up by 30% compared to last year, which is just unacceptable. One call handler, Declan Cowan, shared a particularly scary experience he had while working.
He was on a busy day at the West Ambulance Control Centre when a patient called in. Declan had to tell him to contact his GP instead of sending an ambulance, and the guy just lost it.
He started shouting, blaming Declan if anything happened to him, and even threatened to find him. Can you imagine how frightening that must have been? It’s just not right.
The figures from October 2023 to September 2024 show that 146 staff members in the West region faced verbal or physical assaults, with 132 in the East and 59 in the North. That’s a lot of people dealing with this kind of abuse.
SAS Chief Executive Michael Dickson made it clear that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable. He emphasized that their staff should be able to do their jobs without fear of being attacked.
He also pointed out that the impact of such abuse can be long-lasting, sometimes even pushing people to leave the service. They’re working with Police Scotland to tackle this issue and hold those responsible accountable.
