Humberside Fire and Rescue have launched a campaign aimed that is aimed at reducing the number of attacks on emergency services workers.
Sue Cousland, Lincolnshire General Manager at East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) attended the event alongside colleagues from Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS), Humberside Police and Humberside Fire and Rescue.
During the period of April 2018 to March 2019 EMAS staff had reported 1,082 assaults including physical, verbal, sexual and racial abuse. This is an increase of 113 incidents on the previous year.
In the Lincolnshire Division alone, staff reported 168 assaults, with 25 assaults resulting on members of our ambulance crew being injured.
Sue Cousland said: "We are very supportive of this campaign as it will help challenge some of the unfortunate and unacceptable behaviour faced by our crews on a daily basis.
“All of our frontline clinicians and staff who deal with the public either out on the road or in our control centre, chose a career with the ambulance service as they want to make a positive difference in their communities.
“It is a very sad reflection that our staff often encounter verbal and physical abuse when they are just trying to do their job.
“I am proud that the team, despite experiencing some of these challenges, continue to demonstrate a high level of resilience and professionalism and we need to ensure they are fully supported by campaigns such as this.”
Paul Mudd, Divisional Commander of A&E Operations in East and North Yorkshire at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said:
“Verbal and physical abuse against any member of NHS or emergency services staff is completely unacceptable and we are doing everything we can to address this. These staff are highly trained professionals who are there to help those in need and deserve respect from everyone.
“We’re delighted to support the Don’t Cross the Line campaign with our emergency service colleagues which we hope will raise the profile of unacceptable abuse and aggressive behaviour against staff and encourage all communities to protect their protectors.”