THERE is something perverse about a society in which people whose job it is to help and to provide urgent medical aid are so often attacked while simply doing their jobs.
The latest such incident happened on Friday when an ambulance was so badly damaged as the result of a violent attack that it had to be taken out of service.
Like most arms of the health service, the ambulance service is under pressure almost all of the time. During periods of severe weather it tends to be running in a virtual crisis mode.
Newspapers and other media are regularly filled with stories about the ill and the injured waiting unacceptable lengths of time for transport to hospital, even when the 999 number has been dialled.
These delays have nothing to do with the efforts of hard-working and dedicated staff. Rather, they are to be commended for providing the service they do under often difficult circumstances.
It makes absolutely no sense therefore when an already under pressure organisation, staffed by people doing their utmost to provide the best service in the most frustrating circumstances, is given even more problems to deal with by people who carry out violent attacks.
Attacks on vehicles carry an inherent risk that the personnel staffing them can be hurt as well. As if that was not bad enough, ambulance crews are often deliberately targeted and some have been injured.
As it is, a valuable piece of equipment has been taken out of service and the community which it would have been helping has been left even more exposed than normal.
There is no excuse for these outrages and it is to be hoped that anyone with information about such incidents should give every assistance to the PSNI.
