St John Ambulance paramedics are coming under attack in Hawke's Bay and Manawatu.

A spike in assaults on paramedics has prompted St John to say they will start regularly pressing charges against the people they are trying to save.

Physical attacks on ambulance staff are becoming more frequent across the country, paramedics say.

Their concerns have been highlighted by three assaults on St John staff in Hawke's Bay during the past fortnight.

On Friday, a paramedic suffered broken ribs and bad bruising after he was assaulted by a man who was suffering a medical emergency in a central Hastings public toilets.

An Ambulance staffer was also hurt in Napier earlier this month when a drunk man, who had suffered a head injury, became physically aggressive towards the two staff tending to him.

Another incident in Hastings occurred when the partner of a woman being treated became abusive and threatened to hurt the four ambulance staff trying to save her life. Police had to be called to keep the paramedics safe.

St John district operations manager for Hawke's Bay and Manawatu Steve Yanko said these unprovoked attacks were the latest in an increasing trend in the district.

"As well as serious assaults we're seeing an increase in verbal abuse and intimidation. I'm definitely dealing with it now more than in the past," he said.

"Having ambulance staff ending up in emergency departments needing treatment is on the increase."

The Hawke's Bay assaults followed recent incidents in Manawatu. One involved an officer being pushed to the ground and held down, while another saw an officer suffer a broken nose from a punch.

"We're used to people being emotionally charged, and we're trained in how to talk people down, but now we're seeing those strategies are not working and people just lash out. Now it's got nasty," Yanko said.

The time had come for zero tolerance, and any physical assault will result in charges being laid, he said.

St John Hawke's Bay territory manager Brendon Hutchinson said being verbally abused was not uncommon, and while staff disliked it "the sad truth is we've just got used to it".

"When it comes to physical violence and assaults on staff, that's a different matter," he said.

"These [assaults] involved patients, or those close to them, physically attacking the people who were trying to help them. It's got bad. We've had enough."

New Zealand Ambulance Association chairman Mark Quin said assaults on paramedics had increased noticeably across the country over the past few years, with the violence largely down to patients abusing alcohol and drugs.

Frustration over wait times was also playing a part, he said. A lot of people were calling ambulances for minor problems instead of going to a GP, which was delaying paramedics from tending to more life-threatening cases elsewhere.

When they finally did arrive at those important jobs, patients or their loved ones were sometimes angry at the long wait, and occasionally lashed out, he said.

Another problem was that roughly a third of the country's ambulances were only crewed by one paramedic, which meant they were in potentially significant danger if called to a gang house or a patient with psychiatric issues.

Quin said he knew of a female paramedic in Foxton who was forced to jump out the window of a house after a man locked her inside and threatened her safety.

Increasing funding so that all ambulances could have at least two staff onboard would help bring the assault numbers down, Quin said.

Educating the public to not waste paramedics' time would also help.

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