A , who has served for 24 years, has spoken out about being spat at by a hostile patient while he was being escorted to a police van in handcuffs.
On Friday, May 10, 2024, Jonathan Roberts, who works for from the Welsh Ambulance Service, was attempting to treat Nigel Francis, 58, from Blaenymaes when the latter turned aggressive.The incident unfolded in the Ravenhill area of .
South Wales have now released the bodycam footage of the shocking incident, and Jonathan has opened up about how the ordeal has affected him. This week at Swansea Magistrates’ Court, Francis, 58, of Blaenymaes, Swansea, was handed an eight-month prison sentence and ordered to pay £50 compensation to Jonathan.
He had previously been of assaulting an emergency worker and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Paramedic Jonathan, 50, has now spoken out about the terrifying onslaught he faced while on duty on May 10 last year.
Nigel Francis, 58 from Blaenymaes has been sentenced (Image: South Wales Police)
He recalled: “I second guess every situation now. I do understand that when people are intoxicated, it clouds their judgement, but nobody deserves to be spoken to like that, threatened and then spat on, when all you’re trying to do is carry out your role as a paramedic to help patients in the community. When he spat at me, I just felt disgusted that a patient could treat anyone like that. I was there to help him.”
Detailing the incident from his base in Ystradgynlais, Powys, the devoted father-of-one explained: “We’d been sent to a chap reported to have been unconscious, but when we arrived, he was clearly conscious and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.”
PC Jonathan Bell experienced an appalling ordeal when a suspect, Francis, spat at him during an arrest. Recalling the incident, the officer said: “He was verbally abusive and physically threatening from the outset, so we called for police back-up. With the police now in attendance, he continued his barrage of abuse, so he was arrested and placed in handcuffs. As a police van arrived to escort him to hospital, he leaned forward and spat directly at me, the sputum landing on my face, neck and clothing.”
Despite the suspect’s subsequent arrest for assaulting an emergency worker, PC Bell remained with him in the police van, emphasising the importance of care continuity: “What he did was disgusting, but I still had a duty of care for this man. Continuity of care is everything, had I passed his care on to someone else, something might have been missed in the handover to hospital staff.”
Paramedic Jonathan Roberts has reflected on the shocking incident (Image: Welsh Ambulance Service)
After handing over Francis to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital, PC Bell swiftly sought medical attention, and was relieved to find out he needed no treatment: “Thankfully, because none of his spit had entered my eyes, nose or mouth, I didn’t require any treatment,” he remarked.
Lee Brooks, Executive Director of Operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, stated: “Any form of assault is unacceptable, but spitting in particular is downright depraved. Jonathan was there to help this man, and this was the ultimate disrespect. The fact that Jonathan continued to deliver care for him is frankly remarkable.”
We will always seek prosecution for those who harm our people, and sentences should reflect the devastating and long-term impact that assault has on our staff and volunteers. Our plea to the judiciary is to use the full extent of their sentencing powers to ensure proportionate sentences are handed out consistently to those found guilty of committing these crimes against our people.
“South Wales Police Sergeant John Hughes added: “Nobody should expect to be assaulted – either physically or verbally – when they go to work, whether you work for the emergency services or otherwise. This behaviour makes our roles more challenging, and we will take firm actions against those responsible.