John MacDonald: Aren't ED assaults just as bad as first responder assaults?

The Government’s plan for tougher sentences for people who don’t think twice about assaulting first responders and corrections officers is great. But I think there are some other people who should be included.

Doctors and nurses. These are the people who, it seems, can be at just as much risk of being attacked. 

It’s brilliant that the Government has got the ambulance paramedics in their thinking. But the threat doesn’t necessarily go away once they’ve dropped someone off in the emergency department. 

In fact, it could be argued that, at times, hospital staff are at more risk than prison officers. Because, in prisons, there are all sorts of precautions and measures in place to minimise the risk of violence. There’s none of that in hospitals, though. 

Not that I see the new law being a solution to this problem we have, where  some muppets think it’s ok to assault and injure the people who come to our rescue 24/7. 

The ambulance guy I heard on Newstalk ZB this morning sounded like he’s in the “give it a go and see if it works camp”. Which I guess he’s more than willing to do given he said that his paramedics are assaulted pretty much every day. He said, at least, a couple of times a day. Prison officers - there were 900 assaults on them last year.  

But guess what the numbers are for health workers? Numbers aren’t available for last year but, according to Health NZ data, there were about 14,000 assaults on staff by patients, family members and visitors between January 2023 and December 2024. 

The number of assaults increased by 30 percent between the first half of 2023 and the second half of 2024. 

Fifteen out of 19 health districts saw increases in assaults on staff over the period. 

No assault on anybody is acceptable. Especially first responders. But, if we’re going to judge the situation on numbers, then you could say that the nurses and doctors in our hospitals are at much greater risk of being assaulted than fire, ambulance, police and corrections officers. 

And emergency department staff, especially, should be protected by this new law. They’re not.  But they should. 

Then we get to the broader question as to how or why we’ve got to the point where a law like this is even needed. 

How has New Zealand become a place where some of us have a complete disregard for people who are just here to help? That’s the wider question. 

And I reckon there are two possibilities. One, the ambulance guy on the radio mentioned. The other is something much bigger. 

First - alcohol and drugs. They are undoubtedly part of the problem. Because if you’re off your nut on alcohol and/or methamphetamine, you’re probably much more likely to have a go at a first responder, aren’t you? 

More likely than if you weren’t. And, while I think it's great the Government intends to crack down on first responder assaults, I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference.  

The other reason I think we’re seeing more and more of this violence towards first responders and hospital staff, is something much deeper. 

And it’s something that I think we are all guilty of - to varying degrees.  

Respect. Or lack of it. Society, in general, has way less respect for authority than it used to. And we are all more inclined to challenge authority these days than we used to be. 

So, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that there are some people who take that next-level and are prepared to fight against the authority of ambulance paramedics, firefighters, police officers, corrections officers, doctors and nurses. 

Sadly, I think that horse has well and truly bolted and I don’t see us ever getting back to a time when the idea of assaulting or injuring first responders never entered anyone’s head.  

LISTEN ABOVE

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from newstalksb.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
The government's tougher sentences for people who don't think twice
about assaulting first responders and corrections officers are great, great idea,
absolutely brilliant, But I think there are some people, some
other people who should also be included. Doctors and nurses.
These are the people who, it seems, can be at

(00:35):
just as much risk of being attacked even though they're
there to help. I mean, it's brilliant that the government's
got the ambulance paramedics in their thinking or it's thinking.
But the threat doesn't necessarily go away, does it once
they've dropped someone off in the emergency department. And if
it's good enough for corrections officers to be included in

(00:55):
this new law, then for me, it's good enough for
doctors and nurses at our hospitals to be included, isn't it.
In fact, it could be argued that at times, hospital
staff are at more risk than prison offices, for example,
because in prisons there are all sorts of precautions and
measures in place to minimize the risk of violence. None

(01:17):
of that in the hospitals, though, ah, none of it.
So if I've got one criticism about the government's crackdown
on people who assault and injure first responders. If I've
got one criticism, it's that doctors and nurses, especially the
ones working in the emergency departments, won't benefit in any

(01:39):
way from this new law, not that I say it
being a solution, by the way, to this weird problem
that we have where some muppets think it's okay to
assault and injure the people who come to our rescue
twenty four to seven. It is weird. I mean, I
thought the ambulance guy who spoke to Mike this morning
sounded just as realistic about the prospects of this new law.

(02:03):
I think he's in the give the guard and see
if it works camp, which is where I'm at as well.
And I guess he's more than willing to do that,
given he said that his paramedics are assaulted pretty much
every day. He said, at least a couple of times
a day. Present officers there were nine hundred assaults on
them last year. But guess what the numbers are for

(02:25):
health workers. Numbers aren't available for last year, but according
to Health New Zealand, data that I saw this morning
about fourteen thousand assaults on staff by patients, family members,
and visitors. That was in the two year period between
January twenty twenty three and December last year, fourteen thousand.

(02:48):
It was an increase of thirty percent, and fifteen out
of nineteen health districts saw increases in assaults on staff
over the period. Happens locally, happens right around the country. Now,
no assault on anybody is acceptable, especially first responders. If
we're going to judge the situation on numbers, the situation

(03:11):
that the government's trying to do something about, which is great,
If we're going to judge it on numbers, then you
could say that the nurses and doctors in our hospitals
are actually at much greater risk of being assaulted than
fire ambo, police and corrections officers, an emergency department staff especially,
they should be protected by this new law. They're not

(03:31):
at the stage, but what do you think? Then we
get to the broader question as to how or why
we've got to the point where a law like this
is even needed. How has New Zealand become a place
where some of us have a complete disregard for people
who are just there to help. That's the wider question
in all of this, and I reckon there are two

(03:52):
possible reasons behind it. One the ambulance guy I mentioned
to Mike this morning. At the other it's something much bigger,
and I think we all have a part to play
in this second one. First of all, alcohol and drugs.
They are undoubtedly part of the problem, because if you're
off your nut on alcohol or methamphetamine or both, then

(04:16):
you're probably much more likely to have a go at
a first responder, aren't you more likely than if you
weren't off your nut on something. And while I think
it's great the government's cracking down on first respond to
results and injuries, I don't think it's necessarily going to
make a big difference because that's one horse that has
already bolted. Alcohol and drugs. The other reason, I think

(04:38):
we're seeing more and more of this type of violence
towards first responders and hospital staff as well. It's something
much deeper, and as I say, I think it's something
that we are all guilty of to varying degrees. This
is the other reason why I don't see this new
law achieving what the government hopes necessarily comes down to

(05:01):
one word, respect or lack of it, and I reckon
society in general has way less respect for authority, especially
I don't know if it's since COVID or what it is,
probably not, but we are all more inclined to challenge
authority these days than we used to be, aren't we?

(05:23):
I mean completely unrelated. There's a story in the news
today about people living in those huts by Lake Ellesmere,
the Green Park Huts now lab were told five years
ago that their leases wouldn't be renewed. What have they
done this spent the last five years fighting it council's
water charges. There are people showing complete disrespect to the
council over that they're fighting it as well, see what

(05:43):
I mean? And so maybe we shouldn't be surprised that
there are also people in our society, in our community
to take that next level and are prepared to fight
against the authority of ambulance, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, doctors, nurses,
corrections officers, you name it. And sadly, I think that

(06:03):
horse has well and truly bolted as well. And I
don't see us ever getting back to a time when
the idea of assaulting or injuring. Our first responders never
entered anyone's head. But how confident are you? Here's my
questions for you. How confident are you that these tougher
sentences will improve the way some people treat first responders?

(06:26):
The deeper question, why or how do you think we've
got to the point where this kind of law is
even needed? And do you think doctors and nurses in
our emergency departments especially should also be included in the
new law.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
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