DOZENS of Sussex ambulance staff work in fear of violence or abuse, according to a shock new report.

Frontline paramedics and technicians are regularly being sworn at and sometimes assaulted, a survey by Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust shows. But only half the respondents attacked told anyone at the time, and more than a third said they would not know how to report incidents if they needed to. Now the trust's board has voted to tighten up its anti-aggression policy, and improve staff-manager links. The new survey was commissioned in the wake of the growing number of incidents of abuse. One victim, Brighton ambulance technician Andy Huggan, 33, was assaulted by a man he was treating in a police station cell last week. He welcomed the new report, adding: "People have a few beers, see a uniform, and go for you. It's an everyday occurrence." Of the 153 workers who completed forms, 127 said they had experienced some aggression last year. Nineteen were left in need of medical help after being assaulted, and 93 said they sometimes felt "vulnerable" at work.

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