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The capital's no-go streets for 999 medics fearing attack
Danny Brierley09.12.08
HUNDREDS of London streets have become no-go areas for ambulances because of attacks on medical staff .
Almost 2,000 London addresses have been put on a "high risk register", and are categorised as too dangerous for emergency workers to visit without a police escort.
Health officials refused to make the London Ambulance Service list public,but it includes roads in St John's Wood, Fulham, Greenwich, Wimbledon and Islington.
In some areas there are more than 100 addresses where staff have been assaulted while responding to calls, mainly due to drug and alcohol-related attacks. Campaigners called for tougher action against people who assault emergency workers after it emerged that less than two per cent are prosecuted.
Figures obtained from the London Ambulance service under the Freedom of Information Act show that in the past 12 months some units have suffered more than 100 attacks. The most targeted were staff based in Edmonton (144 attacks), Hanwell (127) and Isleworth (117).
They also fear the policy of waiting for police escorts could put lives at risk, as the Met and ambulance service have differing emergency call response targets. Ambulances must be at an address within eight minutes, while police work to a 12-minute rule.
Michael Summers, vice chairman of the Patients Association, said: "This escort policy is unfair on patients who are genuinely innocent, and who might well find themselves unable to be treated within the necessary time limits because the ambulance crew that is sent to them is waiting for a police escort."
An spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service said it was "essential" to protect staff as at least two ambulance workers a day are attacked in London.
"We hold a list of more than 1,900 patient addresses where previous experience suggests there may be a risk of physical or verbal abuse.This register helps protect staff.
"When we receive a call to a flagged address indicating a threat to our staff, we immediately notify the police. We will not enter the property until they are also in attendance."
Andrew Trotter, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "We aim to deploy immediately to emergencies and we make sure that 999 calls are despatched straight away. Attacks on emergency services are very serious."
Scotland Yard refused to comment.
Reader views (8)
The blanket LAS policy not to attend any victims of violence - in the street or to a property - without the police does not though distinguish between victims and perpetrators, so innocent victims who have never been violent to anyone are also automatically denied urgent medical help, this is totally unacceptable.
Violence against ambulance staff is of course also totally unacceptable, however, this issue must be addressed by government with responsible solutions, solutions that address both ambulance staff safety and ensure victims of violence are not automatically denied the urgent medical help they desperately need.
One of those solutions is for dedicated police to travel with ambulance staff to calls to incidents of violence, the current situation is that ambulance staff rendezvous with the police to such incidents, however, these two different services have different target response times based on entirely different operational criteria.
The LAS, as other ambulance services, has a target response time of 8 minutes but according to the new 'Policing Pledge' currently being signed by constabularies, in urban areas the police 'aim to get to you within 15 minutes' and in rural areas 'within 20 minutes'.
Anyway though the aim must be to get to the patient as quickly as possible, as surely this is what ambulance staff want to do I hope they will support the efforts to ensure this can and does happen.
- S Denham, London
I work on an ambulance in South East London and have lost count of the amount of times I have been verbally and physically assaulted- yet still,every shift, myself and my colleagues put our safety at risk to help others- often going into situations without police backup to assist patients and the public.
If I am sent to a "flagged" address and instructed to wait for the police for my own and colleagues safety then I will, as if I enter the situation and get injured as a result my superiors will not support me as I was instucted not to enter.
If somebody suffers as a result of their previous violent and aggresseive behaviour to people who have come-at their request- to help them then that is unfortunate but ultimately the responsibility of the person who was violent and aggressive.
If sombody is going to die because of their unacceptable beahaviour then I do not see why it should be me!!
It is time society and individuals took responsibility for their actions and stopped trying to pass the buck or blame alcohol,drugs,lack of money or the many other pathetic excuses given for the appaling lack of respect for themselves or others.
- London Ambulanceman, London,England
Why is it always England that seem to be suffering so
violently with everything? The Law, Schools, Emergency services, hospitals, gun crime, knife crime, corrupt government,
high taxes, clamping, parking fees in hospitals, high perscription charges, schools numbing sown education, being told we are all racist, having Christianity slowly removed, uncontrolled immigration, university fees, and the list goes on.
I don’t hear of any of this going on in Wales Scotland, N-Ireland. Is this because they all have their own governments and England does not.
England has a whole loads of Scots Irish and welsh MP's running it. Any pattern appearing here? When are the English going to stand up and say enough is enough, what are they doing to our country, JUST WHAT!!!
It is about time the great thinkers of England looked beyond their comfy homes and bank balances and
help the rest get this country back on its feet by removing this current government and replacing it with
an all English government. There is nothing else that would do, no amount of meeting to decide what they could
do with our country they must be rejected at the next election and that would be just to slow the destruction of England it will take many years to right the wrongs of liberalism.
- Chris, Wirral,England
Moral relativism has allowed our sense of law and order and basic precepts of justice to become utterly perverted.
Living in London I have learned that the justice system has two primary characterstics:
- A failure to tackle violent crime
- Yet it is ruthlessly efficient in bringing to book minor traffick offences which allow the state to hoover up more taxes from otherwise law-abiding people.
The system has become very sick, and the UK is increasingly an unjust place. This story makes me ashamed to be British.
- Danny, London
Why should paramedics expose themselves to high risk for such little thanks and reward?
Maybe if we appreciated them a bit more, financial as well as pat on back, they would be more inclined to help in dangerous situations?
Or is it just a simple sign of the deterioration of the society that we live in that paramedics feel so at risk that they don't attend incidents without support?
- Liberal Thinker, UK
So they will not go to scenes where they is a risk of violence. Doesn't that include every incidence of violent crime then? So if I am attacked on the street I have to drag myself somewhere safer to get help?
- Mark, London
I think the English people are stupid that they let their government get away with this mismanagement - both society wise but also economically the UK has become by far the worst of the big countries...
- Peteo, London
The LAS, in common with other ambulance services, has a blanket policy not to attend any 'incident of violence' - whether in a property or in the street - unless escorted by the police:
Procedure for Fast Response Unit (OP 013)
"...FRU's are not to be dispatched to confirmed incidents of violence, such as fights in a public house, domestic violence, shootings/stabbings, abandoned calls and high-risk addresses. FRU's may be sent to these types of incidents if it is confirmed police are on scene or an RVP [rendevous location] with the police has been agreed, other LAS personnel are on scene and it is safe to approach.".
Of course the safety of LAS staff is vital, however, there are better ways to address this issue than just leaving people who are victims of violence, including those with life-threatening injuries, without emergency medical attention.
- Karen, London, UK
