Intoxication and violence during ambulance call-outs

A report investigating the impact of alcohol on the emergency services was carried out in 2015 (Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), 2015). The report found that alcohol was the leading cause of call-outs, and that most ambulance staff feel that they are at risk in their line of duty (IAS, 2015). It revealed that 96% of ambulance staff had been verbally abused or threatened in their line of duty, 50% have actually been injured on duty by alcohol-intoxicated individuals, and 54% of staff feel unsafe in their own ambulances (IAS, 2015). More than half of ambulance service workers (52%) claimed to have been the victim of intoxicated sexual harassment or assault.

An interesting and concerning point raised by the research was that staff felt they were not equipped appropriately to deal with intoxicated individuals, with 50% noting that they felt they lacked the relevant training. The final main point summarised that many ambulance staff felt there should be tougher policies on intoxicated individuals. Three-quarters (76%) of staff supported the idea of an NHS policy that would charge people for ambulance call-outs when their own intoxication was the cause for requiring an ambulance.