Attacks force Scots ambulance crews to compile ‘no-go’ list

AMBULANCE crews will not answer 999 calls at hundreds of addresses in Scotland without a police escort, because of violent attacks and intimidation.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has a blacklist of 437 properties, compiled after incidents that have seen staff punched in the face, hurled down embankments and attacked with knives.

The list is based on the recent experiences of crews who have suffered physical assaults or threats while trying to help people in need at the properties, with more than 90 per cent of the attacks thought to be fuelled by alcohol and drug abuse. Greater Glasgow and Clyde had the highest number of “red-flagged” addresses in Scotland, with 125 properties blacklisted, while Lothian had the second-highest figure at 86, and Forth Valley and Fife both having 53.

One paramedic, who asked to remain anonymous, said most ambulance staff faced attacks three or four times a year.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman David McLetchie said: “It is a disgraceful state of affairs when ambulance workers who dedicate their working lives to helping people cannot enter so many homes for fear of their own safety.”