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The number of violent assaults, acts of aggression and incidents of abuse against ambulance staff in the UK has risen to the highest on record, according to health leaders described it as “horrendous” and “truly shocking”.
There were 22,536 incidents of violence, aggression and abuse directed at paramedics and other ambulance workers in 2024-25, up 15% on the 19,633 in 2023-24, figures from the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) show.
It means that each week on average those responding to 999 calls are the victims of 433 attacks, include kicking, punching, slapping, head-butting, spitting, sexual assault and verbal abuse.
Senior ambulance officials said they believed the true toll was even higher, with many incidents not reported or recorded. Female paramedics and ambulance workers are the most likely to be targeted by the public.
Jason Killens, the AACE chair, said: “These figures are truly shocking and reflect a pattern of increased violence, aggression and abuse directed at hard-working ambulance people who are there to help people in their times of greatest need.
“Frontline staff as well as call handlers are affected by this horrendous abuse, and this unacceptable behaviour has a major long-term impact on the health and wellbeing of ambulance people who are simply trying to do their jobs and help save lives.”
Killens, who is also the chief executive of the Welsh ambulance services university NHS trust, said the AACE was asking health ministers in all four nations of the UK to explore whether new interventions could help deter potential perpetrators of violence.
He said: “We would also underline again that it is vital that the judiciary uses all available legislation to ensure appropriate sentences are handed out consistently to those found guilty of committing these horrific crimes against our workforce.”
Sharan Bandesha, a national ambulance officer at Unison, said no one should be attacked for doing their job. She said: “Ambulance workers who respond to emergencies, from heart attacks to car crashes, are trying to save lives.”
Bandesha said rising pressure on the NHS – with soaring numbers of 999 calls, record demand for urgent care and an increasingly sick and ageing population – had created a “toxic environment” in which assaults and abuse against staff had become “far too common”.
A Guardian investigation in January revealed how more than 1,000 patients a day in England were suffering “potential harm” because of ambulance handover delays.
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Rory Deighton, of the NHS Confederation, which represents the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the new figures were “deeply concerning”. He said: “The safety of all NHS staff is non-negotiable. Everyone should be able to go to work without the fear that they might be attacked or assaulted while doing their job.”
The UK government said violence of any kind was unacceptable and anyone who assaults emergency workers faces up to two years’ imprisonment.
The Welsh government said ambulance workers deserved to be treated with respect, and any form of attack on them was “completely unacceptable”.
The Scottish government said no NHS staff should be the victim of violence while at work, and Scottish courts had extensive powers to deal robustly with assaults.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland said violence against staff who dedicated their lives to patients was making their work “much more difficult”.
