A paramedic was so violently assaulted by a woman she was called to help during a shift that she developed PTSD as a result, a court heard.
Paula Kudray punched the emergency worker in the arm before lashing out at her and her colleague.
She kicked, punched, spat at and bit both paramedics after she suddenly snapped while intoxicated in the incident in Manchester in November last year.
After Kudray was convicted of assault, the paramedic she punched said the attack triggered previous terrible memories.
She also considered quitting her 19-year career in the ambulance service, but after counselling has decided to stay in the job, the court heard.
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Ambulance bosses said Kudrays attack was appalling as they revealed there were 204 assaults on staff by the public last year, a 63% rise from 2013.
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In this case, the paramedics – who have asked to remain anonymous – were called to reports of an intoxicated woman lying on the ground at the junction of Culcheth Lane and Amos Avenue in Newton Heath, Manchester.
After they arrived, North West Ambulance Service said Kudray, 41, from Moston, lashed out at the paramedics, punching one on the arm.
She then began to kick and spit at both of them before trying to bite them.
They managed to restrain her until police arrived.
The medic who had been punched was left distressed and bruised for weeks.
This was an extremely distressing experience for me particularly as it came from nowhere, she said.
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After dealing with some other harrowing incidents around the time, the attack triggered previous terrible memories which resulted in me needing to take time off work to recover from PTSD.
I was in a pretty dark place after the attack, even questioning my 19 year career in the ambulance service but thanks to ongoing counselling and support from my family and colleagues, I do feel much better and feel that this can finally bring me closure.
Kudray pleaded guilty to two charges of common assault at Manchester Magistrates court and was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement to undertake 15 days of rehabilitation activity and complete a mental health treatment programme.
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James Birchenough, central Manchester operations manager for the North West Ambulance Service, said: The majority of patients treat our clinicians with the respect they deserve for their hard work and dedication to the community.
Our clinicians are there to help people in times of need so its appalling that they can become victims of verbal abuse or physical assault.
We are pleased that this lade has been brought to justice and take a zero tolerance approach to any form of abuse against our staff.
We always encourage incidents such as this to be reported to the police and have a great deal of support and counselling in place for staff who may be suffering both physically and mentally.
Paramedic Amanda Beames quit her job after she was stabbed while trying to help Paulius Zacharovas after he was found unconscious in Manchester city centre in September last year.
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In March, another paramedic was attacked while attending a 999 call in Sparkhill, Birmingham, after a woman reported severe chest pains.
Tasha Starkey said she was threatened and verbally abused by a man who claimed she had taken his parking space.
It was part of a string of appalling aggression aimed at life-saving NHS staff earlier this year.
A month earlier, paramedics working for West Midland Ambulance Service found a note that read: I dont give a s**t if the whole street collapses under their ambulance windscreen wiper after attending an emergency call.
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