Unlimited Digital Access / Get £25 off your Annual Digital Subscription! Use code 25OFF
GET STARTEDMore on KentOnline
Unlimited Digital Access / Get £25 off your Annual Digital Subscription! Use code 25OFF
GET STARTEDMore on KentOnline
Paramedics across Kent are set to be equipped with body-worn cameras in a bid to slash the number of attacks on emergency service workers.
South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) will launch a 12-month trial of the devices to establish if the technology can act as a deterrent against thugs and aid future prosecutions.
Emma Williams is executive director of operations at SECAmb
Beginning in the next few weeks, the test will see 400 cameras being worn by crews across five areas covered by the trust, including Thanet and Medway.
This comes as new figures show SECAmb workers were attacked on 245 occasions and verbally abused 219 times last year.
The trust's executive director of operations, Emma Williams, said: "One assault against a member of staff is one too many.
"Our staff should expect to be able to come to work and care for people without the risk of violence or abuse.
"Sadly, there are a small number of individuals who seem to think this kind of behaviour is acceptable.
"One assault against a member of staff is one too many..."
“We are keen to establish if body-worn cameras can help to further protect our staff by acting as a deterrent and also provide valuable evidence for use in court."
In October, thug Aaron Trotter, 33, was jailed for 15 months after admitting six offences, including four attacks on emergency workers.
The Gillingham bully spat at a nurse and police after breaching a restraining order by arriving at his ex-lover's home in Chatham carrying a can of petrol.
And last March, Ramsgate paramedics on the frontline of the fight against coronavirus arrived at work to find holes drilled in the tyres of six ambulances.
Secamb will use cash from NHS England and NHS Improvement to bankroll the trial.
Ms Williams added: "We will study the findings of the trial closely and also continue to work with police colleagues across our region and ambulance services nationally to tackle this issue that the huge majority of the public find abhorrent."
