Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help protect ambulance workers from abusive and violent conduct.

Employers across the National Health Service in England including ambulance services are responsible for protecting their staff. It is for them to work with their staff, accredited local security management specialists, their local Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to put in place policies and procedures aimed at reducing the likelihood of abusive and violent conduct while ensuring appropriate action is taken, including criminal or administrative sanctions, against perpetrators deliberately committing such acts.

The new NHS Violence Reduction Strategy developed by the NHS will help ambulance services tackle abusive and violent conduct against their staff. The Strategy includes training in de-escalation techniques, continuing professional development of security staff, improving the safety of working environments, ensuring all organisations are clear about their responsibilities, a publicity campaign and work with the Police and CPS to ensure appropriate use is made of existing legislation and the new Assault on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. In preparing the Strategy, there was an event with ambulance providers and work will start soon for a plan to tackle abusive and violent conduct against ambulance staff.

Two ambulance services are assessing how body cameras could be used to help protect paramedics. Subject to the outcome, body cameras may be used by all ambulance services.