North East ambulance worker opens up about physical attack
The latest NHS staff survey's revealed attacks have reached a three-year high
Last updated 24th Mar 2026
As attacks on NHS staff reaches a three-year high, we're hearing from one North East Ambulance Service worker who was physically assaulted last year.
In October, the ambulance support practitioner, who wants to be anonymous, was trying to help a man who had taken drugs.
She said: "Halfway through my second explanation, completely out of nowhere, he punched me straight in the face. My nose started pouring with blood immediately and it was excruciatingly painful. He was on our stretcher the other side of the hospital bed, so he leaned over and smacked me in the face. On a day-to-day basis, we don't deal with people as violent as that.
"I did have some time off work because due to the injury I wasn't allowed to do any lifting for two weeks, and obviously lifting is pretty much what we do for every job.
"After that job, I spoke to a manager and went home. And then NEAS arranged some therapy for me to help me process what had happened. And since then, I've been able to put it aside and get on with my job.
"And then when I came back to work, it was on my second shift back, I went to a patient who made me feel uncomfortable. There was nothing that patient did that was wrong, it just triggered in me what had happened when I'd got punched.
"I was supposed to be staying in the back of the ambulance with that patient, but we swapped over because I felt triggered by the patient. And even driving the ambulance after that, I was worried for my crewmate's safety.
"There are situations that you go into where you're cautious. Sometimes we do have patients that are flagged on our system as potentially violent or potentially aggressive to crews, in which case if we're not comfortable going into the situation we would wait for the police to arrive.
"If we're turning up to help you, it's not the best day that you've been having. And all I want to do in my job is to come in to your home or wherever the emergency is, and to be able to help you without being abused physically or verbally.
"The sort of incident that happened to me, I think, is quite rare. I was just very unlucky. So if you are thinking of a career with NEAS, don't let it put you off. But it's also about how important it is to not let people physically or verbally abuse you in a role where you just want to care for people."
The man involved was sentenced to 16 months in jail back in December.
Three-year high in attacks on NHS staff
Almost one in seven NHS staff (14.47%) were physically attacked by a patient or the public last year – the highest rate for three years, according to the latest NHS staff survey.
The statistics also found a record percentage of staff say they were subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour by the same group - rising steeply to almost one in three ambulance staff (31%).
The data is revealed in the latest NHS Staff Survey out today, one of the world’s largest workforce surveys established in 2003.
More than 766,000 NHS workers in England responded, providing vital data for employers and stakeholders about the staff experience.
It also found nearly one in ten staff (9.26%) said they were subjected to discrimination from the patient and the public - the highest on record.
An overwhelming 87.78% of respondents to the staff survey felt their job made a difference to patients.
While the number of staff who would recommend their workplace to others fell slightly to 58.05% from 60.79% in 2024.
Danny Mortimer, Director General (People) for NHS England, said:
“These figures paint a deeply worrying picture of the abuse our hardworking NHS staff face.
“Staff safety and wellbeing is paramount, and we want everyone experiencing any kind of unwanted incident to feel confident enough to report it.
“But while that behaviour is completely unacceptable, we must look at what more we can do to support the people who keep our services running.
“We know about the everyday pressures staff face – such as not being able to get decent food on a night shift – and we haven’t moved fast enough to fix them.
“Staff have worked so hard to improve NHS performance and deliver care over winter as shown in the latest performance figures.
“These survey results show it is now for the NHS to deliver improvements for staff because there is so much more to do to make the NHS a better place to work.”
Darren Green, Head of Operations at North East Ambulance Service, said: "Our staff come to work to care for others - they should be able to do this without being abused or attacked.
“To help support our staff and keep them safe we provide body-worn cameras and vehicle CCTV that act both as a deterrent, as well as capturing key evidence for a prosecution.
“We work closely with our local police forces as well as with national partners including AACE, NHS England, NHS resolution and NHS employers to raise awareness and tackle these issues.
“Any form of assault or abuse can put the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our staff at risk, and in some cases, people have been known to leave their jobs. We have a range of welfare, occupational health, TRiM (trauma risk management) and mental maintenance resources available to all colleagues to support our colleagues.
“We will not tolerate the abuse of our staff they should feel valued by those they help and safe to carry out their duties. They work in the most difficult conditions with patients who are often at their most vulnerable. If you do come into contact with any of our staff, please treat them with courtesy and respect."