Hereford paramedic 'broken' by patient attack on duty

Steve Raven said the assault had changed his outlook as well as fractured his jaw

A paramedic left with a fractured jaw after being assaulted while on duty said the violent attack "broke him".

Steve Raven, 54, was called to reports of an unresponsive man at Shooters Bar in Leominster on 4 March.

After initial treatment the patient became aggressive, and punched Mr Raven after leaving the ambulance.

"Would I be the same person I was before the assault? No, I don't think that's possible," Mr Raven told BBC WM.

"The fear is having broken once, would I break again?"

Henry Grain, 20, from Leominster, Herefordshire was jailed for two years after admitting grievous bodily harm and criminal damage.

The prosecution was secured after Mr Raven's bodycam footage was provided to police.

Henry Grain was jailed for two years after punching paramedic Steve Raven

Mr Raven said Grain was secured to a trolley while undergoing diagnosis, but was unbelted when he became aggressive.

"He went out the back of the ambulance to family," he said. "At this point, I felt the aggression had ended."

"But as I exited the vehicle to close the back doors, he came back and struck me from the side and broke my jaw."

In the immediate aftermath, the paramedic did not realise the severity of his injury.

Steve Raven captured video of the assault on a body-worn camera

He said: "I felt a real clatter to my head, felt the buzz of pain and that sort of white flash of light of, 'crikey, what's just happened?'"

"But I stood back up and realised that my colleague was tussling with the guy and I suppose the adrenaline kicked in and I joined in."

The colleagues restrained Grain until police arrived, then the two men were taken to hospital for treatment.

Sent home with pain medication, it was only later the paramedic realised the mental impact of the attack.

"It broke me, I didn't realise straight away, but I was being upset by stuff that I wasn't usually upset by," he said.

"There was moments where, for no apparent reason, I was crying."

Mr Raven received counselling and was supported by charity Climbing Out, which helps people process trauma.

But he and his family remain worried for his safety.

"It might happen to me tonight, and this time the guy that punches me might hit me so hard, I might die," he said.

More than 1,200 bodycams have been provided to staff by West Midlands Ambulance Service

West Midlands Ambulance Service said 449 staff had been physically assaulted over the last year, and there had been 927 cases of verbal abuse.

A total of 1,288 bodycams have been issued since October 2021 give a "level of safety," said Mr Raven.

"It doesn't stop the abuse, but it's a level of protection we didn't have before, so I'm glad we have it."

His case marked the first time bodycam footage was used in an investigation into an assault on a member of West Midlands Ambulance Service.

"I felt proud that they'd used the footage effectively and that I'd used the camera the way it was meant to," he said.