Ambulance attacks demand strong response
Ambulance Tasmania says there has been a worrying rise in attacks on paramedics.
64-year-old Mervyn Bowerman was sentenced to three months' jail for an unprovoked attack on a paramedic this week.
The Magistrates Court in Hobart was told that the paramedic had not yet returned to work after suffering the physical and psychological trauma.
Ambulance Tasmania acting chief Paul Templar says similar attacks happen on a daily basis, impacting workers, patients and even bystanders.
“If the trend continues we will eventually end up with even more serious injury,” he told the ABC.
“It's important that people understand that it's not acceptable and there will be a price to pay if people assault paramedics.”
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) backed Ambulance Tasmania’s view.
“Aggressive incidents happen on a daily basis now and because of the frequency are largely unreported,” he said.
Mr Jacobson wants better equipment for paramedics.
“We've obviously been lobbying very hard over recent years for personal duress alarms,” he said.
Tasmania has had mandatory sentencing laws for assaults on police for over two years, and it is hoped that those laws can be extnded to cover paramedics and firefighters.