A paramedic has penned an emotional letter calling for stronger laws to protect emergency services workers.
Stacey Heaney, an advanced life support paramedic from Melbourne, spoke out about being ambushed by a knife-wielding man and warned violence is increasing.
Ms Heaney said she shared the Facebook post about the incident, which happened a year ago in Tarneit in the city’s western suburbs, in the hopes of changing laws.
Stacey Heaney (pictured), an advanced life support paramedic from Melbourne, told of being ambushed by knife-wielding attacker, and warned violence is increasing
A paramedic has penned an emotional letter (pictured) calling for stronger legal protection of emergency services workers
Ms Heaney said she shared the Facebook post about the incident, which happened a year ago in Tarneit in the city’s western suburbs, in the hopes of changing laws (pictured is an ambulance with a message protesting attacks on paramedics)
During her four years as a paramedic Ms Heaney has been verbally abused, threatened and even spat on, but the attack changed her view of her job, she said.
‘It was a dark winter night and my partner and I were called to assist an intoxicated person lying in a street,’ Ms Heaney wrote.
‘We parked our truck and began walking towards the patient when a bystander frantically ran down the street screaming “it’s a trap leave now they attack emergency services all the time!! They have a knife!!”
‘At that point the patient jumped up and started charging us trying to punch me in the face.’
The letters were written amid public outrage about two women who successfully appealed jail terms for viciously bashing a paramedic in 2016 (pictured is Amanda Warren)
Drunk mothers Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood (pictured), 20, had their jail terms quashed last week and were given community correction orders instead
Ms Heaney and her partner were forced to hide in their truck while waiting for police to save them from the assailant, who was trying to break inside.
The man was never charged, Ms Heaney said, because the paramedics were not hurt and the incident was a ‘regular occurrence’.
‘This is just one of the many stories of violence we face in our workplace which is happening more frequently,’ Ms Heaney wrote.
‘That is why proper laws in place is so important to me and my colleagues so that it acts as a deterrent.
Ms Heaney’s letter followed a similar post a day earlier by Steff Dewhurst (pictured), who told about being attacked and subjected to vile rape threats by a patient
‘With recent events I fear these assaults will increase as the courts do not protect us.
‘It is not okay to assault emergency services! Time to open up communication about how to protect emergency services!’
Ms Heaney’s letter followed a similar post a day earlier by Steff Dewhurst, who told about being attacked and subjected to vile rape threats by a patient.
The letters were written amid public outrage about two women who successfully appealed jail terms for viciously bashing a paramedic in 2016.
Drunk mothers Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood, 20, had their jail terms quashed last week and were given community correction orders instead.
In response to the outcry over the County Court decision the Victorian government has proposed a reworking of mandatory sentencing laws, The Australian reported.
In response to the outcry over the County Court decision the Victorian government has proposed a reworking of mandatory sentencing laws (pictured is an ambulance with a message protesting attacks on paramedics)
Attacks on emergency services workers will be reclassified to require custodial sentences.
The move came after Police Association of Victoria boss Wayne Gatt and Steve McGhie, the Ambulance Employees Association of Victoria head met premier Steve Andrews.
The proposed laws would see those who assault emergency services workers given a mandatory six-month sentence, even if they were drunk or on drugs.
Mr Gatt said confrontations between the public and emergency services were increasing, and more needed to be done to protect them.
‘There’s only so much governments can do, people have to take personal responsibility for their actions and that is what this is about,’ he said.
Proposed laws would see those who assault emergency services workers given a mandatory six-month sentence, even if they were drunk or on drugs (pictured is an ambulance with a message protesting attacks on paramedics)