St John medics rushing to save a patient having a heart attack in a Hawke's Bay pub in December found themselves caught in a drunken fight and were roughed up and assaulted. The rise in assaults comes despite St John's December launch of a graphic video campaign aimed at stopping the violence. The three incidents were among a continued spike in assaults on St John staff in December as 11 sought hospital treatment following serious incidents, up from five in December 2015. St John New Zealand chief executive Peter Bradley said the increase was sadly predictable because half of all assaults on ambulance medics were alcohol-fuelled. The rise in assaults also came despite St John's December launch of a graphic video campaign aimed at stopping the violence.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 31, 2017 19:41 UTC