10.08.11
NHS staff attacked during riots
Ambulance staff were attacked during the rioting in London on Monday night.
Missiles were thrown by rioters while members of the London Ambulance Service were attending to the injured at several incidents, including one in Ealing, west London, where paramedics were helping a middle-aged man beaten up by rioters after he tried to put out a fire. He had been left with serious head injuries, but the ambulance staff attending to him came under attack too.
The service’s director of operations, Richard Webber, said: “It was an incredibly challenging night for everyone involved, but all the staff working in our control room, support departments and on the frontline worked very professionally to help us reach patients as quickly as we could.
“On some occasions, this was made even more difficult as missiles were thrown at our vehicles and crews were threatened and intimidated while trying to care for people.
“We will be continuing to regularly review the situation across the capital in order to ensure that we can respond to calls while maintaining the safety of our staff.”
On Monday, 22 people were taken to hospital, others were treated at the scene and still more people found their own way to A&E departments.
Four people have now died in incidents thought to be connected to the riots – one man in Croydon in south London, and three men in Birmingham who were hit by a car last night.
Elsewhere in the West Midlands, ambulances responded to 34 incidents, with 13 people taken to hospital. Services have also been on standby in Liverpool.
All emergency services form part of a mutual network, and ambulances services in regions so far unaffected by the disorder are ready to step in.
East of England Ambulance Service, for example, said last night : “We have well-rehearsed major incident contingency plans which were reviewed last night in light of the current events. These plans will remain in place for tonight and the foreseeable future.”
Across the country, more than 1,300 people have been arrested in connection with violent disorder
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