AMBULANCE bosses and trade union leaders in the West Midlands are united in calling for tougher sentences for those people who attack and abuse ambulance staff.

The number of ambulance workers being attacked, verbally abused or threatened while doing their job continues to be a “real concern” with more than 200 cases reported last year.

These latest figures released by West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) show a depressing trend of violence and aggression against its staff and have sparked a call for tougher sentencing from Anthony Marsh, chief executive of WMAS, and Ray Salmon, Unison’s regional organiser.

A week of campaigning by the 999 service aimed at highlighting the issues faced by its staff has also been launched.

Steve Elliker, WMAS security manager, said: “I get frustrated sometimes if I’m being honest with the outcome of a criminal prosecution because there’s always mitigation.

“Some of that mitigation may be something totally out of character; they had a drink or they took some drugs.

“I have a very simplistic view – they had a choice, they decided to drink.

“Our members of staff who attended to them never had a choice and they had to go because 999 had been called.

“That’s what angers me more than anything else – that we can’t always get the successful prosecution that we want.”

The hard-hitting campaign includes testimony from operational staff together with interviews with ambulance bosses and trade union officials.

To find out more follow the Under Attack campaign at officialwmas.wordpress.com