AMBULANCE chiefs are spending £675,000 on stab-proof body armour for paramedics after a rise in violent attacks.
It is part of a £3.3million package to protect London Ambulance Service crews.
They have seen an 11.9 increase in acts of violence or aggression, from 2,087 incidents in 2023 to 2,337 last year — an average of seven a day.
That includes 11 attacks with “edged weapons” such as knives.
LAS bosses have signed a three-year contract for anti-knife gear from Cooneen Defence, which specialises in military combat and protection clothing.
The ambulance service’s chief executive Jason Killens said: “Violence towards our crews is utterly appalling and unacceptable.
“The impact can be devastating, especially if staff need time off the road to recover.
“Thankfully stabbings and knife injuries are rare for our frontline crews, but we provide all our staff with body armour so we can keep them safe if they feel threatened.”
Last year medic Dean Hawkins risked his life to restrain a Tube passenger wielding a knife in Harrow, North West London.
In 2022 a paramedic had a knife pushed to his back outside his vehicle at University College Hospital, central London.
Last month two LAS members told how a patient they were treating kicked through their windscreen and threw bricks as they tried to help him in Rotherhithe, South East London.
The LAS is also spending money on body-worn cameras and improved CCTV.
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