‘Nearly everyone has been the subject of an attack’ – assaults on ambulance staff highest in Kilkenny and Southern region
Incidents of assaults on ambulance staff in Kilkenny and the southern region are the highest in the country.
A paramedic working in the region told KilkennyNow.ie: “There are a lot more assaults and attacks we just don’t report.”
The figure released by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) show there were 44 assaults on ambulance staff in the Southern region between 2018 and 2019, this included 23 physical assaults. The other assaults are termed as sexual or verbal.
Speaking to KilkennyNow.ie, the paramedic working on the frontline said: “I would say nearly everyone working in the ambulances has been the subject of an attack or has witnessed an attack on a staff member.
“Unfortunately there are a lot more assaults and attacks, we just don’t report them,” they concluded.
Kilkenny is part of the Southern Region in regards the NAS and it covers Carlow, Wexford, South Tipperary, Waterford, Cork and Kerry, as well as Kilkenny.
The figures show the highest recorded incidents of assault are in this region (44), followed by the Leinster and North with 40 incidents of assault. The Western region recorded 30 incidents of assault.
