UK EMS workers demanding Stab vests

[Monty 35]

Not sure what this says about society. I don't know if there are any EMS agencies in the US issuing stab vests / body armor as part of the standard equipment.

Paramedics demand stab vests

Paramedics are being put at risk because they are not being given stab vests, union leaders have warned.

Health minister Ben Bradshaw said that ambulance staff can have stab vests if health trusts deem it necessary.

But the Department of Health has received no requests for funding for the body armour.

The Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel has been fighting for the vests to be given to all front-line crews for 10 years.

The APAP's Jonathan Fox said escalating crime was increasing the risk of serious injury to the paramedics who respond to casualties.

Ambulance crews across the country can have stab vests if it is decided they are necessary by their local NHS trust

Department of Health spokesperson

Currently only London, Essex and Dorset issue staff with the stab vests.

The APAP have written to all trusts informing them of the department's position.

Mr Fox, who is a practising paramedic said staff were at risk every day.

He cited his own experience of treating a violent drug addict who had suffered an overdose.

Although he had no weapons, the man was lashing out and kicking Mr Fox who was fortunately wearing his body armour, which had been issued by the London Ambulance Trust in 2003, protecting him from harm.

Mr Fox said: "Although the majority of public we serve are fine, there is a disproportionate minority of people that we attend who can turn violent and it's this risk we are trying to address by reviewing this initiative."

Violence

There were 1,006 physical assaults against ambulance staff in England for the year 2006/7, figures show.

Matt Whitticombe, APAP's North West regional secretary, said: "While many of our highly-trained and dedicated staff at the cutting edge of the NHS face the threat of physical assault on a regular basis without this protection, our desk-bound administrators continue to prevaricate over the merits of body armour and so the dangers persist.

"Body armour is part of a package of safe systems, conflict-resolution strategies and personal protective equipment necessary to ensure a safer working environment for those who dedicate their working lives to the care of others."

He said there was reluctance to provide the vests, which are tailor-made to fit each specific uniform, because of concerns they are cumbersome and would encourage paramedics to take risks.

"That is unsubstantiated by the research that's been done in police officers, which shows they do not take more risks and assaults against them go down."

He added that the vests were lightweight.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "The government takes the safety of ambulance staff extremely seriously.

"Ambulance crews across the country can have stab vests if it is decided they are necessary by their local NHS trust.

"Any violence against NHS staff is unacceptable. That is why we have announced an extra £97m for security and measures that will make the NHS a safer place to work, including mobile alarms connected to control rooms."

Are you a paramedic? What's your reaction to the stab vest proposal? Send us your comments by filling out the form below.

Name

Your E-mail address

Town & Country

Phone number (optional):

Comments

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/7088341.stm

Published: 2007/11/10 04:51:20 GMT

© BBC MMVII

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7088341.stm

[Goose 188]

I'm pretty sure either NYC*EMS or FDNY*EMS issued bullet proof vests at some point. They may still, but i don't know. A number of other municipal EMS agencies across the country have also issued vests to EMS.

[JBE 328]

Did anyone else notice the humour(British spelling) in this line?? "While many of our highly-trained and dedicated staff at the cutting edge..."

Or, on the wrong side of that edge..

[mikeinet 37]

I had the opportunity to do a ride-out with the LAS a little over a year ago. This is considered a pretty big deal over there. They have bumper stickers in all their rigs (INSIDE their rigs) saying how it's punishable by jail time to assault an EMS worker... etc. etc.

I remember haivng some converstations with medics/EMTs how there really is a violance problem among pts and ems crews in the London area.

[ny10570 745]

A while ago a NYC*EMS EMT was stabbed by a pt and his personally purchased vest was credited with saving him. Since then body armor has been available to all members. Catch is you have to go out to Queens when the vender is there for fitting. Only a few wear them every day. Events like the West Indian Parade and certain neighborhoods get more guys wearing their vests.

[helicopper 1,050]

Note the emphasis on STAB resistant vests - not bullet resistant. It is possible to stab someone wearing a kevlar vest because it designed to withstand high energy impacts by projectiles but not low impact sharp weapons.

Many corrections agencies issue stab resistant vests which I believe have more solid material in it than just kevlar fiber (or any of the new fibers that are out there)...

NYC did issue (or authorize) bullet resistant vests but not the stab resistant ones...

The line about "cutting edge" was hysterical.

[ny10570 745]

The current vest available to EMS is stab and bullet resistant. Oddly enough they were doing a fitting today and someone else brought up why the inside of their vest says "not for ballistic use". Our vests are two layers, the ballistic and stab. I don't have the info in front of me, but from what I remember the vests Balistic level ll and level 3 stab resistant. In their testing the addition of the stab vest brings the level of protection up to the equivalent of lllA but its not certifiable since they are two separate layers. There is a higher level of stab resistance, puncture resistant that this vest is not.

[JBE 328]

Since it's been about 8 years since my EMT certs expired, I have a question. If a patient comes at you with a weapon, or attacks you, are you allowed to throw said person a beating to defend yourself?? Or is it one of those situations where you have to back off and wait for PD??

[20y2 43]

Defend yourself, then retreat when it is safe to do so.

[Guest EFFP411]

Since it's been about 8 years since my EMT certs expired, I have a question. If a patient comes at you with a weapon, or attacks you, are you allowed to throw said person a beating to defend yourself?? Or is it one of those situations where you have to back off and wait for PD??

I don't know about you, but if a PT. attacked me, i would not hesitate to defend myself, and ask questions later. And as far as i know, its a felony assault charge in new york to assault any fire/ems worker on duty.......

[JJB531 652]

I don't know about you, but if a PT. attacked me, i would not hesitate to defend myself, and ask questions later. And as far as i know, its a felony assault charge in new york to assault any fire/ems worker on duty.......

It is a felony in NYS to assault a FF/EMT while performing official duties. Legally, you would be justitified if you used reasonable force to defend yourself from an attacking patient. It's called self-defense. What's reasonable, well that depends on how much force is being directed towards you and how you respond, so that term reasonable does not have a solid definition. From a company/agency standpoint, I don't know how a private/commercial agency would respond to a force complaint if you cracked someone over the head with a traction splint if they charged you. It's one of those things that is not really addressed and should be. Violence directed towards EMS is nothing new.

If you ever do a google search on assaults against EMS workers you will find a ton of articles come out of Europe... it is really an epidemic over there and this is not the first time an article has appeared about the conditions EMS workers face in Europe, specifically the UK.