‘It was the last straw’ – North Wales ambulance worker’s PTSD after assault

An ambulance worker who was headbutted while on-duty says the violent attack has left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Joanne Jones, an Emergency Ambulance Practitioner at the Welsh Ambulance Service based in Denbigh, was headbutted twice by a patient, which also left her with a bloodied nose.

The assault in 2023, plus a succession of others – including a ‘terrifying’ incident of verbal abuse last June – has left the mother-of-two unable to work and in need of counselling.

Joanne, 47, said: “My aim is to come back to work, but the thought of it still makes me feel physically sick.

“I feel stupid and like I’m letting everybody down, but I’m just not ready yet.”

Joanne, who is training to become a Paramedic, was on placement at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in July 2023 when a patient she was trying to assist became aggressive.

She recalls: “We had just transferred him to a hospital trolley when he became entangled in the various tubes and wires.

“As I tried to untangle him, he became aggressive and started thrashing around.

“That’s when he moved his head back and went full throttle, headbutting me twice, and continued to punch and kick out until other members of staff could restrain him.

“I could feel my face swelling, so I had to go and present at the emergency department as a patient.

“As I was chatting to the triage nurse, my nose just exploded with blood.”

Joanne was given pain relief and sent for an x-ray, which revealed a potential small fracture of her jaw.

Joanne, who is being supported by her partner John Paul Jones, an Emergency Ambulance Practitioner based in Rhyl, as well as the Trust’s wellbeing team, said: “I couldn’t eat or drink for days afterwards.

“Even now, more than a year on, I have no sensation in the right-side of my face, including in my bottom lip.

“After that, I had a very unlucky run of violence and aggression incidents, which culminated in a terrifying incident last June in which a patient threatened to kill me, which was the last straw.”

Joanne was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has had regular counselling, including prolonged exposure therapy to try and overcome the trauma.

Jason Killens, Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “A split-second act of violence can have a devastating and long-term impact on our staff and volunteers.

“Joanne is a living example of that, and it’s heartbreaking that she continues to bear the physical and emotional scars of what happened.

“Any form of violence or aggression against ambulance workers is completely unacceptable, which is why we will always seek prosecution for those who harm our people.

“To that end, our plea to judges and magistrates is to use the full extent of their sentencing powers when dealing with those responsible, recognising that assault of an emergency worker is an aggravating factor and should be regarded as a more serious offence.”

The Trust’s Violence and Aggression Case Managers worked with North Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to bring charges against Bradley Roberts, 24, of Rhos-on-Sea.

At Llandudno Magistrates’ Court last week, Roberts was sentenced to 52 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), and was also ordered to pay £400 compensation to Joanne.

More than 3,000 assaults were committed against Welsh emergency workers in the 12 months to June 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of nine per cent.

In May 2021, the Joint Emergency Service Group in Wales launched its With Us, Not Against Us campaign to try and reduce the number of assaults on emergency workers.