Emergency services: 'We can't help if we're in fear of our own safety'

Paramedic Joanna Paskell was a victim of one of the near-3,000 attacks on emergency workers in Wales last year.

At first she tried to laugh it off, but it was only when getting ready for her next shift, five days later, that she felt the emotional toll.

The patient who punched her got a 12-month community order, but it left the 45-year-old suffering with anxiety and meant she was off work for four months.

"We just want to do our job and help," she said. "But you can't do that if you're in fear of your own safety."