ALMOST half of all North-East paramedics have been victims of a drink-fuelled assault while on duty, a new survey has revealed.

Shocking figures release today show that 47 per cent of frontline ambulance staff have been physically assaulted, are regularly sworn at and abused at work, while 40 per cent have been sexually assaulted or harassed by drunken members of the public.

The scale of the problem was revealed in a survey of 350 paramedics – around one-third of the North-East Ambulance Service (NEAS) workforce – carried out by Balance, the North East Alcohol Office.

Most ambulance crews said that alcohol-related incidents account for the majority of their workload during weekend evening shifts and two-thirds say they feel at risk of assault when working in the night-time economy.

The findings were revealed in a report published today by Balance, which repeats the organisation’s call for minimum alcohol pricing to combat the harm caused by alcohol.

Yvonne Ormston, NEAS chief executive, said: “Our crews don’t just deal with drunk weekend revellers; our crews see the effects of alcohol at all times of the day and all times of the week, spread across our region and from patients of all ages and backgrounds.

“Alcohol-related calls take up far too much of our time and are often an abuse of our service, taking our resources away from patients who need us most.

“Intoxicated patients take much longer to triage on the phone and are more likely to be aggressive, placing staff in potential danger and increasing their stress levels.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to assault and support staff every step of the way if they have been abused."

Last year, Balance calculated that misuse of alcohol costs the North-East about £911 million, including a cost to the NHS of £242 million.

Balance director Colin Shevills said: “It’s outrageous that paramedics don’t feel safe in their working environment as a result of other people’s alcohol misuse.

“These are people who are there to help us when we need it most, yet they are living in fear of physical and verbal abuse on a daily basis.

“It’s clear from this report that our paramedics are personally paying the price for the alcohol misuse of others. This is an unnecessary burden on time and resource and it is completely unsustainable."

He added: “Our relationship with alcohol is out of control. We need to bring it under control by making alcohol less affordable, available and less widely promoted.”