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Respect our staff

Working for the ambulance service puts us in a privileged position to be able to make a difference to thousands of lives across the North East every day.

However, with this privilege also comes abuse. Abuse from the very people we are trying to help. 

Our staff come to work to help people, to save lives. They should be free to do this without fear of being abused.

Here are some examples of what our staff face in the line of duty.

Dave Puddy

He may have been in the ambulance service for more than 20 years, but Dave Puddy is more than a paramedic; he is a husband and father of three.

He said: “I’ve been in lots of volatile situations over the years but have only been assaulted two or three times. The first time I was kicked by a drunk female, the second time I was kicked by a drunk male and the third time I was held hostage by a man with a knife.

“You don’t go home and tell your loved ones about your day when things like this happen. You don’t want them to be thinking when you walk out of the door that you might not come back.”

Kerry Cowell

As a 999 call handler, you are trained to try and keep people calm when they are panicking; to understand that a caller may become verbally aggressive when scared. However, the level of abuse that health advisor Kerry Cowell and her colleagues regularly receive is unacceptable.

She said: “Unfortunately being verbally abused is now normality as a call handler. I have been sworn at, screamed at, threatened and have also been told by one lovely gentleman that he would be waiting for me after work.

“There is absolutely no need, especially when all we are doing is trying to help. As awful as it sounds, the pandemic came as a little light relief as callers were kind, considerate and thankful for our help. Unfortunately, now lockdown is easing, its plain to see that it's going back to ‘normal’ and that is not ok.”

Scott Sherrett

Being ex-forces, 50-year-old Scott Sharrett is no stranger to conflict, but had hoped his life on the frontline trying to care for people as a clinical care assistant would feel less like a battle field than it sometimes does.

He said: “I come to work to help people, not to feel like my life is in danger.

“Only recently an intoxicated patient squared up to me and shoved me into my colleague. Thankfully it didn’t come to anything more but I reported it in principle. People need to know it is not ok to treat us in this way.”

Helen Treloar

Around two years ago, clinical care assistant Helen Treloar was held at knifepoint by a woman whilst trying to treat her relative.

She said: “She was high on drugs and, as we were on the floor managing the situation, she was getting more and more aggressive.

“I was trying to de-escalate the situation and calm her down but when they get past a certain point there’s nothing you can do. She threatened to peel our face off and said she would follow us and kill us.

“I’ve worked in a prison with some hard men, but I’ve never been as scared as I was then, she was just so unpredictable.

“I love my job but I should be able to do it without being made to feel scared. We have families at home, we just want to go back to them at the end of our shift.”