A NIAS (The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service) paramedic has been attacked in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, by a patient who called for help from the ambulance service. The patient, who had called for the ambulance herself, physically and verbally abused a female paramedic before refusing treatment from the NIAS employee. The attack is the second suffered by a NIAS employee in a single week. Previously, a patient at the Poleglass estate in west Belfast attacked a male paramedic before refusing treatment, striking the ambulance crewman and knocking off his glasses. The paramedic subsequently received treatment for a head wound at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. A spokesperson for the NIAS commented on the news: ‘There is no excuse for such behaviour and that, where possible, those responsible for such assaults should face the full rigour of the law as a result of their actions to deter them and others from such actions.’
