A young paramedic has revealed the shocking abuse she has suffered while working in her ‘dream’ job – including threats of rape and murder.
Steff Dewhurst said she was only in the job for six months after moving to Melbourne from New Zealand before she was punched in the face by a patient.
Another patient told her he was going to stalk her, detailing how he would find out where she lived before raping and killing her.
A young paramedic has revealed the shocking abuse she has suffered while working in her ‘dream’ job – including threats of rape and murder
Steff Dewhurst said she was only in the job for six months after moving to Melbourne from New Zealand before she was punched in the face by a patient
Another patient told her he was going to stalk her, detailing how he would find out where she lived before raping and killing her
‘He was escorted from the hospital… and waited for me in the ambulance bay,’ Ms Dewhurst said.
‘As I walked outside to make the stretcher he came for me, yelling. I have never run so fast in my life.’
The terrifying ordeal caused Ms Dewhurst to have nightmares for weeks.
‘It rattled me to my absolute core and to this day, I still remember my heart racing as I ran from him.
‘It’s one of the few times I have genuinely felt terror. I was too afraid to walk back to the ambulance so my colleagues walked me to the truck so we could leave the hospital.’
She said her experiences are not unique, and that other paramedics also endure abuse while working.
‘The sad and disgusting thing is that almost every one of my colleagues also has a story about the violence they have faced as a paramedic. This is not what we signed up for and it is not okay.’
Ms Dewhurst’s comments come as police and ambulance unions call on tougher punishments for emergency services workers.
Ms Dewhurst’s comments come as police and ambulance unions call on tougher punishments for emergency services workers
A male and female paramedic were attacked by the same patient but in different incidents in Melbourne’s western suburbs on Thursday,
Meanwhile, Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood, 20, had the jail sentences they received for assaulting paramedic Paul Judd quashed on appeal on Tuesday.
Warren and Underwood were originally sentenced to six months and four months respectively, but Judge Cotterell said special reasons linked to their difficult childhoods and young families mean the minimum six-month term should not apply.
Warren ran from court on Tuesday after her sentence was quashed.
The women admitted punching and kicking Paul Judd as he and another paramedic tried to treat a patient.
She said her experiences are not unique, and that other paramedics also endure abuse while working