NEARLY a quarter of ambulance workers in the Cotswolds have been attacked by patients they were treating in the past year, according to a staff survey released this week.

Figures in the survey, conducted by healthcare watchdog The Health Commission, show that 24 percent of Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) employees said they were victims of violence from patients or their relatives.

These figures were actually below the national average for ambulance trusts and an improvement on GWAS's figures last year when it was 26 percent.

The number of employees reporting harassment or bullying from patients also fell from 52 percent last year to 42 percent.

The extensive questionnaire, which was filled in by a random sample of GWAS workers, revealed the service had improved slightly in the majority of areas including job satisfaction, support from management and work-related injuries.

However fewer workers said they had received job-related training in the last 12 months and work-related stress was slightly up.

Public sector union UNISON's Gloucestershire branch secretary Steve Smart said: "The NHS staff survey is a sobering read.

"UNISON is concerned that the ongoing training of ambulance staff has suffered and mandatory training courses have been cancelled so that operational staff can respond to the increased demand in the community."

GWAS chief executive Tim Lynch said: "It is pleasing to note that the survey did recognise the Trust's continued investment in our staff, particularly regarding their safety.

"However, we recognise that the results highlight some areas that we have not progressed as positively as we might have hoped in the last 12 months."