“Spitting is the lowest, most disgusting and disrespectful thing you can do – not to mention the fear of infection. It’s worse than being punched.”

James, 26, a London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedic, is not the only one to face attacks at work.

According to the LAS, 739 physical assaults took place against staff between January and November this year, 40% of which involved drugs or alcohol.

To try to protect staff, LAS has introduced body-worn cameras, which frontline staff can turn on if they feel threatened or are at risk of violence, assault or abuse.

James made this decision twice; one incident shows a patient becoming aggressive and spitting at James and his teammate, while a second incident shows a female patient attacking him.

“She threatened to smash our faces in and found a shovel to throw at us, then a trash can,” James recalled.

“You just don’t feel safe in a situation like that. You can see in the video that I was so close to her trying to calm her down.”

In both cases, the recordings gave rise to legal proceedings against the perpetrators.

Both were charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and given suspended sentences. They were also ordered to pay compensation to their victims.

“It’s scary when a patient attacks you,” James said, adding that he was happy to wear the body-worn camera.

“I feel like I have a layer of protection with it.”

The ambulances are equipped with crew safety systems, including video surveillance and an electronic tracking system, and have radios allowing crews to call for urgent help.

Chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer said body-worn cameras “act as a deterrent to prevent these incidents from happening or getting worse, but when our teams are assaulted, the footage is vital to support investigations and obtain convictions”.

She added: “Cameras act as an independent witness and as a result offenders are more likely to plead guilty.

“This saves our teams from having to confront their attacker in court and reduces the time off work needed to prepare and attend court.”

James says that when you’re attacked, “it’s hard to want to go back to work but I have thicker skin now and most patients aren’t like that.”

He adds: “Most people really need and appreciate us. »