A volunteer paramedic in Cardiff has recounted a harrowing experience of being sexually assaulted by a patient, raising concerns about the safety of emergency workers in Wales. Emily Hilton, a 24-year-old community first responder, was the first to arrive at the scene of a 999 call in March, where a man had fallen from his wheelchair on a busy main road.
Hilton said the patient initially refused medical attention but wanted help getting home. However, the situation quickly escalated as the man became verbally abusive and threatened to “knock her lights out.” When Hilton offered to assess him, the man grabbed the top of her neck, pulled her close, and attempted to kiss her on the lips. Hilton was left “completely taken aback” by the assault, fearing the man’s vape might have been a knife.
The incident has had a profound impact on Hilton, who said it “completely knocked” her confidence and made her seriously question whether she wanted to continue volunteering. “In my three years of volunteering, no-one’s ever done anything like that to me before,” she said.
The assault on Hilton is part of a broader trend of violence and aggression against emergency workers in Wales. Research suggests there were 3,000 assaults against emergency workers in the country between June 2023 and June 2024, with the Welsh Ambulance Service warning its workers were “often confronted with violence and aggression from the public.”
In response to the growing issue, the Welsh Ambulance Service has run the “With Us, Not Against Us” campaign since 2021 to reduce assaults. Additionally, the government has increased the maximum custodial sentence for assaulting an emergency worker from 6 months to 12 months in 2018, and further to 2 years in 2022.
Despite these efforts, the attack on Hilton highlights the ongoing challenges faced by emergency workers, even those volunteering their time to support their communities. “Any assault on an emergency worker is unacceptable, but what makes Emily’s experience particularly shocking is that she was volunteering her time, unpaid, to support her community,” said Emma Wood, chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service.
The psychological and physical effects of such assaults can be long-lasting, according to James Paget from South Wales Police. “No-one should have to go to work fearing they will be treated in this way when they are working hard – even volunteering in their own time – to keep others safe,” he said.
As the case of Emily Hilton demonstrates, more needs to be done to protect emergency workers and ensure they can carry out their vital duties without fear of violence or assault. The safety of these frontline heroes must remain a top priority for authorities and the public alike.
