Last night, 12 January at approximately 11.30pm, an ambulance officer was seriously assaulted while on duty at Warkworth Station.
The single crewed female paramedic arrived back at the station after treating a patient, and disturbed an intruder who attacked her, kicking her unconscious. The paramedic was able to signal for St John Clinical Communications and Police support before being rendered unconscious.
She was transported to North Shore Hospital in a moderate (status 3) condition and has today been discharged from hospital.
“This is a despicable and unacceptable act on our colleague. She has endured an horrific ordeal while on duty to help others. We are supporting our officer and her colleagues while working with Police,” said Norma Lane, St John Director of Operations. “We are grateful for the quick response and action of our Police colleagues.”
Emergency ambulances responding out of the Warkworth station have been temporarily relocated while the Police investigation is taking place.
St John takes very seriously the safety of its officers and has systems, alerts and supportive measures in place to ensure their security and well-being. Any abuse or assault against ambulance officers is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
St John supports the private members bill, ‘Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill’ and the introduction of tougher penalties for those who assault emergency workers.
St John is rolling out Year 3 of the Double Crewing Project, to end single crewed emergency ambulance responses. This will benefit patients and ambulance officers alike. St John recently consulted with Warkworth Station and double crewing is scheduled to roll out in the next month.