A pregnant ambulance officer was subjected to a brutal attack by a drug-intoxicated patient, who reportedly punched her in the stomach and head shortly after being saved from a life-threatening situation.
Paramedics in Australia were at a Melbourne hospital with a revived woman following a drug overdose when the patient turned violent and assaulted the officer identified only as ‘Sally’.
Despite informing the attacker about her 12-week pregnancy, Sally continued treating the individual for 40 minutes due to a lack of available beds and staff to take over. Fortunately, both Sally and her unborn child were unharmed in the incident as confirmed by Ambulance Victoria.
After the assault, Sally, who is now too fearful to return to work, made the decision to go off-road for the sake of her well-being and that of her baby, according to Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill.
This attack in Melbourne follows a recent incident where a man was charged with attempted murder for stabbing another paramedic in an unprovoked attack while the paramedic was ordering coffee in Melbourne.
Ambulance Victoria’s chief executive strongly condemned the ongoing violence against ambulance officers, emphasizing the need for immediate action to ensure their safety. The UK also saw a surge in attacks on ambulance personnel, recording over 22,500 incidents of aggression and violence in the previous financial year, indicating a concerning trend of mistreatment towards paramedics.
