Punishments handed out for assaults on staff

The male was intoxicated when he assaulted two members of staff and he pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault and was given a custodial sentence. The case was picked up through a Datix report and through support from their local duty operations manager and the Local Security Management Specialist (LSMS) Anne Wright, the staff agreed to press charges.

Paramedic Steven also pursued his case with Bedfordshire Police after his injury was exacerbated over time, following an assault by a female patient. After taking advice from the Legal Protection Unit and using Anne’s network of single points of contact (SPOCs) within the police, the case was investigated and the offender charged with assault by beating. She pleaded guilty and was given a 12-month conditional discharge, with a £100 compensation order to Steven.

Steven said: “I was originally told that the offender would only be cautioned but I thought that response didn’t go far enough, so I was very pleased with the court’s decision. I also really appreciated the support from Anne and her network of police SPOCs.

“We do not do our job to be assaulted by members of the public and I would encourage anyone who has been injured in the line of duty to come forward and make sure a message is sent to the public that this is not acceptable.”

If you are assaulted whilst working for the Trust, please contact Anne by email anne.wright@eastamb.nhs.uk or by phone 07768 946414. All incidents should also be reported on Datix.