Arabic version: مسعفو أليس سبرينغز يبلغون عن 100 اعتداء هذا العام

According to ABC News, St John Ambulance staff in Alice Springs have faced 100 attacks in 2026, most of them physical assaults. The figure was reached after a patient allegedly punched and spat on paramedics while they were taking the person to Alice Springs Hospital.

St John said the incident left three staff members giving statements to police while all three Alice Springs ambulance resources were at the hospital handing over patients or dealing with the aftermath. Abbey Studley said the result of occupational violence is that people may wait longer for an ambulance.

Studley, an intensive care paramedic, was seriously assaulted while working in October 2024. She said a man pulled her from her fast-response vehicle shortly before midnight, and that she activated a duress alarm before being dragged down the street. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, blindness in her right eye and limited feeling in her left arm. She spent two months in an acquired brain injury unit in Melbourne before returning to work 16 months later. No one has been charged over her assault.

Police have been called to help St John workers on 43 occasions this year, according to the service’s data. Possible measures under discussion include body-worn cameras and OC spray. St John NT chief executive Abigail Trewin said cameras raised privacy issues, while OC spray could be problematic inside an ambulance because of the confined space.

St John NT has also formed a partnership with Tangentyere Council, which manages Aboriginal town camps in Alice Springs. Trewin said the arrangement was intended to support safer and more positive interactions with Aboriginal patients through trust, communication and understanding. Tangentyere Council chief executive Walter Shaw said he hoped it would contribute to a safer workplace for paramedics.