FOI 25-025 Staff Assaults
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 25-025 Staff Assaults
- Request Date
- 14 Jan 2025
- Response Date
- 23 Jan 2025
- Information Requested
I) In the financial years 2022/23, 23/24, and 24/25 (Up to 08.01.25), how many members of clinical staff were physically assaulted by members of the public? Please provide a breakdown by role if it is possible and doesn't exceed the cost threshold, e.g doctors, nurses, physicians, paramedics.
II) Of those clinical staff who were assaulted, how many required hospital treatment as a result of their injuries? Please provide a breakdown by role, if it is possible and doesn't exceed the cost threshold, for the same financial years.
III) How many days of medical leave were granted to members of clinical staff owing to injuries sustained after an assault by a member of the public? Please provide a breakdown by role, if it is possible and doesn't exceed the cost threshold, for the same financial years.
2. I) In the financial years 2022/23, 23/24, and 24/25 (Up to 08.01.25), how many members of non-clinical staff were physically assaulted by members of the public?
II) Of those who were assaulted, how many required hospital treatment as a result of their injuries?
III) How many days of medical leave were granted to members of non-clinical staff owing to injuries sustained after an assault by a member of the public?- Response
Please see the table below detailing the number of staff that have reported being physically assaulted for each financial year requested:
2022/23 - 171 physical assaults
2023/24 - 200 physical assaults
2024/25* - 153 physical assaults
*from 01/04/24 - 08/01/25
We do not hold the information in a way that allows us to report on which of these incidents resulted in staff requiring sick leave or medical treatment. It is for this reason I have applied Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002; Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) does not hold the information that you have requested.
Please note caution when interpreting this data
The information given is assaults on ALL Scottish Ambulance Service staff, we do not hold the information in a way that would allow us to identify the occupation of staff without applying complex skill and judgement of multiple teams.
The Service has a range of measures in place to help protect staff, known or reported areas where staff have previously faced violence or threatening behaviour are taken into consideration and communicated to attending crews. Scottish Ambulance staff are trained in managing aggression and assessing risk, enabling them to better judge when they need to wait for support from the Police, or request additional service support
