Paramedic gran punched, bitten and spat at as NHS makes new plea to patients
A paramedic has spoken about how she has been punched, pushed, bitten and spat at as she pleads with patients to keep medics safe.
Deborah Darley, 57, has shared her story as part of a campaign across the Black Country and West Birmingham, which sees children or grandchildren of healthcare staff photographed in their relatives' uniforms and asking those who use the NHS to keep their loved ones safe.
Deborah, who has been a West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedic for 19 years, was assaulted by a patient whilst on a call out five years ago, which resulted in her having a cast on her arm for more than six weeks.
“I become a paramedic just before I turned 38, so came into the profession a bit later than most people. I left school many years ago and so starting a new career at that age was a really big thing for me to do and I was really proud of myself," she said.
“I absolutely love being a paramedic and feel so passionately about helping others. I’m not the type of person who gives up easily and I like a challenge, but I have been subject to abuse on the job and it does take its toll.
“Over the years I’ve been verbally assaulted, punched, pushed, bitten and spat at. However, in 2016 I was on a call out with a colleague and was seriously assaulted by the patient we were trying to help. This resulted in having my wrist in a cast for over six weeks ‒ I had soft tissue damage and it took months to fully recover.
“Being able to use your hands is a vital part of the job and the injury could have been careerending for me. I worked extremely hard to get where I am and to face having to give up a career I loved was daunting.
“After the assault, the severity of the situation hit me like a tonne of bricks. My parents, my daughters and my grandchildren were all so worried about me going back to work and it created a ripple through the family. You hear about these types of things in the news but I never thought it would happen to me."
Deborah's grandchildren, 12-year-old Meg and Mollie, six, are pictured in one of the posters. Others include children dressed as their parents or grandparents who are nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, doctors, porters and receptionists.
The posters are being displayed across NHS buildings in the hope that seeing the children will bring home the message that there is a story and family behind every uniform.
“To my grandchildren, I’m just their nan. They don’t understand why somebody would want to hurt me, especially when I’m just doing my job. My granddaughter Meg actually wrote about the incident for a piece of homework at school and won a literacy award," Deborah continued.
“Once I got over the initial shock of the attack, I was pretty angry. I thought, I’m not there to be treated like that, I’m just trying to help people.
“Despite what happened I still love my job and if anything, it made me more determined to carry on. My thought process was, who is this person to stop me from doing my job that I’ve worked so hard to get.
“As a paramedic, you never know what you’re going to get when you go on a call out. In the current climate, I know people have a lot going on and tolerance levels are a lot lower, which is something I always take on board. But ultimately, we’re just there to help people and do our job.
“I always say to people, remove the uniform and boots, and I’m just human like you, with parents, children and grandchildren. I’m there to do my best and if you hurt me, I can’t help you.
“That being said, I’ve met some fantastic people over the years and it’s been an absolute privilege to help them. If someone has called for an ambulance and needs emergency assistance, the situation isn’t going to be nice, but I honestly feel so lucky to be in a position to support people in their time of need. For me, that’s priceless and you wouldn’t get that in another job."
The latest staff survey carried out at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust showed around 10 percent of respondents had experienced violence from patients, relatives and members of the public in the last 12 months.
Chief Executive David Loughton said: "It is not acceptable that our staff, who are working hard every day to help others, are subjected to abuse.
"They are dedicated healthcare professionals and should be able to carry out their job without people making it harder for them. It is completely unacceptable for them to be subject to any form of violence or aggression."
Alan Duffell, Chief People Officer for the trust and workforce lead for the Black Country and West Birmingham Integrated Care System, Healthier Futures, said: "NHS staff dedicate their lives to protecting and caring for us in our times of greatest need.
"For any one of them to be subject to aggression or violence is completely unacceptable.
"No one should be abused, threatened or attacked in the workplace, especially when all they’re trying to do is help people.
"It is really important to remember that they are real people behind their uniforms, from our reception staff, to clinical teams such as doctors and nurses, and they deserve our respect."
Explaining why she's backing the campaign, Deborah added: “I feel so passionate about the safety of NHS staff and felt this campaign was a positive way to highlight this. The sad reality is that many of my colleagues have been assaulted whilst at work and it’s just not acceptable. If it can happen to me as a grandmother, it can happen to anyone, and it has to stop."
