A 20-YEAR-OLD woman is expected to appear in court next month facing charges relating to the assault of a paramedic who had attempted to come to her aid in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Dromore.
According to police the assault on a female paramedic took place at around 2.20am at a property in Fairview Gardens, Dromore.
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said the paramedic was responding to a “medical emergency” at the address.
“On arrival at the scene a female Paramedic was assaulted by the patient who punched and bit her,” said the spokesperson, “The Paramedic removed herself from the scene in an attempt to calm the situation only to be attacked a second time by the patient whom she had arrived to help. 
“This second assault resulted in the Paramedic sustaining a head injury.
PSNI arrived at the scene and arrested the assailant.”
The NIAS spokesperson said calls to the Ambulance Service in early hours of the morning are “normally serious in nature” and NIAS staff are “focussed on providing life-saving care”. 
“They do not expect that while providing treatment that they will be assaulted by the actual patient,” they added.
“Attacks on our crews continue at a rate of more than five a week. This situation is totally unacceptable. We have previously talked about the impact that these attacks have on the communities we serve in terms of crews being stood down mid-shift. We have talked about the potential for the loss of life as a result of reduced cover following these assaults. While this potential still exists we are even more concerned about the impact of such assaults on the health and well-being of our staff. These assaults are not something which our crews are able to forget about within minutes. We have evidence to show how the impact can be felt years later and the event relived at any moment in time.”
“NIAS will continue to call for the full rigour of the law to be applied in instances where evidence against an assailant is clear and indisputable. We are heartened at some of the recent sentences that have been passed and hope that those who find themselves before the court on such charges will face the real prospect of custodial sentences.”