West Midlands Ambulance Service call assessor speaks out on abuse
"I know it's a daunting time when you're ringing up and it's scary for a loved one, or family member, but just take a few seconds to think – we're here to help."
Those are the words of a West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) call assessor who has called on people to understand the impact of verbal abuse on them.
Bradley Bayton-Harvey, from Dudley, has been with the service since 2019 and is responsible for recording the right information when people call 999 or 111.
The information is entered into a computer system which categories the seriousness of the illness or injury and ensures the patient receives the appropriate care.
But he has now made a plea to those who he and his other colleagues help day-in day-out after figures showed verbal abuse cases in England soared last year.
Just under 800 verbal abuse cases were recorded in 2020-2021 which represented an increase of almost 60 per cent over the last five years, prompting calls for action.
Mr Bayton-Harvey told the Express & Star: "(I've suffered) all sorts of different abuse to be honest – violence, people kind of threatening to say they will hunt me down and everything like that.
"There's been racial abuse, too, when they've been thinking I'm of some kind of ethnicity or background and they've made comments about family members and other staff too.
"It's hard, but doing the job is enjoyable because of the people you work with and you do it because you're making a difference to people's lives given the difficult circumstances."
In the West Midlands, there were 36 reported cases of verbal abuse towards control room staff between April last year and January this year, latest figures revealed.
And whilst the level of abuse received hasn't historically been routinely reported by call assessors at WMAS, they will roughly receive at least one abusive call per shift.
Overall abuse levels, including physical abuse, increased to 11,749 in England and increased to 1,671 incidents in the West Midlands, an 88 per cent increase since 2016.
The 28-year-old added: "I think, being in the job for two years now, I know it's not been historically recorded by call assessors.
"It happens frequently and you have one abusive call per shift that you do and I think it's just under 800 verbal abuse incidents recorded across England, so that's around a 60 per cent increase over five years.
"And we're just trying to help people. I'd say to them: just take a few seconds. I know it's a daunting time when you're ringing up and it's scary for a loved one, or family member, but just take a few seconds to think – we're here to help. And as much information you can give to us is helpful.
"We're here to help – and we don't want to tolerate the abuse we're receiving, because that's what we're having to do at the moment."
The call assessor, based in Brierley Hill, shared his story as part of the national #WorkWithoutFear campaign alongside Birmingham paramedic Sarah Haddada. Later, the campaign will feature the likes of paramedics Deena Evans from Willenhall and Michael Hipgrave from Telford who were attacked on duty in Wolverhampton in 2020.
West Midlands Ambulance Service chief executive Anthony Marsh said: "My staff come to work to care for others in their time of need, yet all too often they are greeted by violence and abuse. Assaults on ambulance staff, whether it be physical or verbal, are not okay and I fully support this campaign.
"I hope that it opens people’s eyes to the impact that abuse has on staff as well as reinforcing the message that abusive behaviour of any form is totally unacceptable."
Alcohol has been named the most prominent factor in assaults against ambulance staff in the West Midlands and nationally, followed by drugs and mental health episodes, whilst race and sexuality have also increased as exacerbating factors in the assaults.
The campaign, launched by The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and backed by NHS England, aims to highlight the "profound" impact of this abuse on the everyday lives of ambulance staff.
It aims to encourage the minority of people who might commit these offences to have respect for the people who respond to help them, their friends and their families, when they need it most.
