** Female UK paramedic stabbed with syringe by IV drug abuser
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A Nottingham man has been jailed for 20 months after stabbing a female paramedic with a syringe he used for his own drug use. That is the word from The Nottingham Post (December 5) which said Thomas Kirby, 24, speared the medic above the knee on August 18th outside a Mansfield pub. According to the newspaper, the female paramedic offered to help Kirby, before fleeing to her ambulance when she felt threatened. Kirby, in turn, forced the passenger side door open and stabbed her. He also punched her in the shoulder. The EMS unit then fled with the door still open. As a result of his aggression, the practitioner had to undergo a series of blood tests as well as take antibiotics to combat any infectious disease that may have been transmitted. Blood test results were negative. Nottingham EMS crews have suffered 213 assaults in the past year at the hands of patients and bystanders.
