Paramedic left with broken nose and blood-spattered hi-vis jacket after being attacked by a drunk he was trying to treat
The dad-of-three had been helping an unconscious patient when a thug hit him in the face
THESE are the shocking pictures that show the injuries suffered by a paramedic after he was attacked by a drunk person in the line of duty.
Tony White, from Northfield, Birmingham, suffered a broken nose and was off work for two months as he recovered from the assault.
The dad-of-three had been helping an unconscious patient when a thug hit him in the face in January.
The yob later received an 18-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay GBP1,600 in compensation to Tony.
It was the FOURTH time Tony had been assaulted while working for West Midlands Ambulance Service.
And he believes his worst fears will one day come true – that a colleague will be killed on duty in an act of senseless violence.
Tony is now calling for more measures to protect the safety of colleagues, including harsher sentences for those who attack emergency workers.
The paramedic of 11 years said: “I have two big fears – firstly, that one day one of us is going to get killed. I believe that it is only a matter of time before this happens.
“My second fear is that it will become so common to abuse paramedics that the public will just accept it.
“Every single colleague or friend I know who works for the trust has suffered some sort of abuse, whether it be verbal or physical.
“I have had female colleagues who have been sexually abused, and others have had knives pulled out on them.
“It is wrong. It needs to stop. And it needs to stop now.”
The January attack came as first responder Tony, 53, was tending to a man in Broad Street, along with a nurse observer.
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Tony said: “He was fantastic at first and was very sorry for having to call us out. However very quickly he changed and called a crew member a f***** b******.
“I asked him where had that come from. I told him that if he was going to behave like that, he wouldn’t be allowed to go to hospital with his friend.
“Then he turned on the nurse observer and she began backing away from him as he called her a s*** and w****.
“He threatened to rape her. I went up to him and told him he needed to go home because otherwise he would be arrested.
“The next moment I just felt a crack on my face and my nose was pouring with blood.
“There were four police officers who witnessed the attack and it was caught on CCTV. He was immediately arrested.”
Tony was later horrified to learn that the attacker was only going to be cautioned because it was his first offence.
“I told my bosses that I wasn’t happy about that at all,” he said. “They pushed it further so that he was given the suspended sentence.
“I wanted to face him in court and ask him what gave him the right and justification to do that when I was simply helping him.”
Tony had already been shaken in an incident in September last year when he went to the house of a man reported to have breathing problems.
When he got there the man was only suffering from a common cold.
He explained: “I told him he couldn’t go to hospital because we’d both get shouted at. He wasn’t happy and became abusive.
“I turned round, and was walking away from him, and as I got to the door he hit me.
“The next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital. He was charged and ordered to pay £100 compensation.
“I haven’t seen a penny of it – and I doubt I ever will.”
More than two years ago, Tony suffered his first assault in the back of the ambulance and suffered two broken ribs as a result.
Not long after that, a patient spat in his face and was charged.
Brave Tony added: “I think we should have body cameras which we can turn on if we feel threatened.
“We do need protection. In the last three to four years the amount of assaults has increased, and it is worrying.
“I think there are a number of reasons why they are happening and it is a sad reflection of society.
“People are going out getting drunk and having no fear of the consequences.
“There is no deterrent. The police are going out of their way to look after us, as does West Midlands Ambulance Service.
“But then we are let down by the judges, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts in general. It just isn’t on.”
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