In the early hours of Sunday morning, a female paramedic working in the CBD was allegedly assaulted.
Paramedics came across a 21-year-old man on George Street who they said was unresponsive and possibly intoxicated. When they went and attended to the man, he allegedly proceeded to strike one paramedic in the face, push her to the ground and kick her. Which is a completely reasonable thing to do to someone who is out there trying to help you…
Police intervened, and the man was arrested. Even though this sounds like the isolated incident of a complete bloody idiot, that’s not what the statistics say. According to the NSW Ambulance Service, the number of assaults on paramedics rose by 50 per cent last year. There were 133 assaults against paramedics in total. That is, there are 133 dickheads out there horrible enough to go out and harm a paramedic. A person who devotes themself to keeping all of us alive.
NSW Ambulance Service Inspector Ian Johns spoke to the ABC, and called upon the public to take responsibility, rather than relying on police or legislation.
“We can’t flail our arms around and ask for someone to do something … if our mate gets aggressive when he has one too many drinks, it is our responsibility to settle him down and send him on his way home.”
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams via Getty
Via SMH
