Alice Springs paramedics record 100 assaults this year

Paramedics in Alice Springs have recorded 100 assaults so far this year, highlighting the danger faced by emergency crews responding to calls in the Central Australian town. St John Ambulance data cited by ABC said most of the incidents were physical. Police have been called to assist the service’s workers on 43 occasions this year.

During an ABC ride-along, paramedics responded to a patient with a medical issue who became aggressive after arriving at Alice Springs Hospital. The patient punched and spat at staff while they were trying to provide care, leading to a police call and an arrest. The incident left three local resources at the hospital while staff handed over patients or provided statements.

With three 24-hour crews and one intensive-care unit staffed by 45 paramedics, the service said violence can contribute to longer ambulance waits. Abbey Studley, an intensive-care paramedic, knows the risks personally. She was attacked in October 2024 after a man pulled her from her fast-response vehicle.

She suffered a traumatic brain injury, blindness in one eye and reduced feeling in her left arm, but returned to work 16 months later. Studley said crews would be given time to debrief and recover after the latest assault. No one has been charged over her own attack, which she said remained difficult because the alleged perpetrator could still be in the community.

Body-worn cameras and OC spray have been proposed as possible protections. St John chief executive Abigail Trewin said cameras raised privacy questions and that pepper spray could be dangerous inside the confined space of an ambulance. NT Health Minister Steve Edgington said the government would consider the option.