title: Security. Defence mechanisms.
abstract: Half of trust ambulance staff had been physically assaulted in the past three years, and 58 per cent seriously threatened. Managers had asked fewer than 10 per cent about the causes of the incident or how to stop a recurrence. Protective measures most requested by staff were identification of problem patients/locations, followed by police back-up Further research is needed on the effectiveness of protective measures for ambulance staff.
authors.affiliation: Westcountry Ambulance Services Trust, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nethercott
mesh_terms: D000552:Ambulances; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D017751:Safety Management / Q000592:standards*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D006113:United Kingdom; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*