East of England Ambulance Service
Lone East of England paramedic who found abusive note on ambulance speaks out
She says it was an emergency situation
A vehicle from the East of England Ambulance Service
The paramedic who treated a patient in an 'emergency situation' has spoken out about finding a nasty message on her car.
Nicole Mitchell, who works for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), was at a medical emergency in Luton on Sunday (August 4).
When she emerged, she was faced with a rude note which called her a blind idiot and asked her "not to park in front of my driveway".
The ambulance service has now asked members of the public who abuse their crews over parking issues to remember they are there to save lives.
East of England Ambulance Service reveal the place where an abusive note was left for paramedics
The note that was left on a marked rapid response vehicle (Image: @eastenglandamb)
Paramedic Nicole Mitchell said: "The note was quite aggressive, and as a lone female worker, I did take it personally.
"I got in my car as quickly as possible as I didn't want to risk a confrontation."
Nicole also said it was not the first time that the public have shown unreasonable impatience over parking: "I've had people asking us to move our ambulance so they can get past – while we're dealing with a patient in the back," she said.
The vehicle was easily recognisable as a first responder, with the bright yellow and green colours and writing on the side and back. But the neighbour still left the piece of paper on the windscreen.
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Chief Executive Dorothy Hosein said that abusive notes and comments about parking were something that crews faced all too frequently. Dorothy repeated the message of the Trust's #DontChoosetoAbuse campaign, which highlights the verbal and physical abuse crews received from the public:
"Our crews are instructed to be considerate where they park. However in areas where parking is limited, an ambulance may need to park in the first available space to attend a critically ill or injured patient.
"No-one deserves to be abused for doing their job, so if a marked ambulance is parked across your drive for a few minutes, please think – is your parking space more important than a neighbour's life?"