EMERGENCY workers in Wales have revealed how they've been attacked and verbally abused by the very patients they were trying to help.

Their shocking stories come amid a year-on-year rise in reported assaults on police officers, paramedics, firefighters and other emergency workers since 2019.

More than 1,440 assaults were committed in the six-month period 01 July 2021 to 31 December 2021, new figures have revealed. These attacks commonly include punching, kicking, spitting, and verbal abuse.

Joanna Paskell, a paramedic for the Welsh Ambulance Service, was assaulted last May by a patient at Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales.

“It was while we were trying to move the patient from the trolley to a bed that she lashed out and punched me straight in the chest," said the mum-of-four, who has been a paramedic for 25 years.

“I was stunned as it was completely out of the blue, and there had been no indication that she was going to get aggressive."

The assault has left its mark on her, long after the incident.

“Although shaken, I thought nothing of it at the time, just taking painkillers for the pain," she said.

“It was only as I was getting ready for my next shift that realisation dawned, and I actually had a panic attack.

“I subsequently had to take time off work.

“It took a lot for me to come back, and even now, I’m very cautious around patients.”

Another paramedic, Andy Davies, was left with a dislocated shoulder when he was assaulted by a patient last June.

“The patient was becoming verbally aggressive to the point where we actually called for police back-up," he said.

“As I tried to assess him, he threw me to the floor, partially dislocating my left shoulder.

“I had to have six weeks of physiotherapy afterwards to help me recover from the injury.

“I’m ex-military police so I’m quite good at compartmentalising these things, but it doesn’t mean to say we should accept it.”

Pam Kelly, the chief constable for Gwent Police, said: “We already ask a lot of our officers and staff in the course of their working day as they often deal with situations most of us hope never to encounter. 

“Working where the threat of verbal or physical assault is an increasing possibility makes the role even more challenging."

And ahead of the long jubilee weekend, Jason Killens, the chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “The last couple of years have been a fraught time for all of us, but that’s no excuse to assault an emergency worker, who are people, just like you and I.

“With a Bank Holiday weekend comes lots of people enjoying the revelry, and with alcohol consumption usually comes an increase in assaults.

“The debt of gratitude we owe to our emergency workers has never been greater, so please treat them with respect."