THERE are more than 2500 houses in Scotland too dangerous for paramedics to enter without police backup, new figures uncovered by the Scottish Tories have revealed.

The data, released through Freedom of Information legislation, shows that the Scottish Ambulance Service has marked 2557 homes as “red flagged”.

That means crews have experienced violence, lewd comments or behaviours, or verbal abuse when responding to a call.

Tory public health spokeswoman Annie Wells said courts needed to be tougher on those who assault or intimidate emergency workers: “It’s quite shocking to see there are more than 2500 addresses where they can’t safely go about their work.

“No paramedic should ever fear for their own wellbeing, especially when they are dedicating their lives to helping others.

“We clearly need to do more to keep them safe, which means tough action from the courts when those assaulting, or threatening to assault, ambulance workers are caught.”

David O’Connor from Unison agreed, and said members already “have a difficult enough job to do without being physically and verbally assaulted”.

He said: “Both the Unison and indeed the NHS have a position of zero tolerance when it comes to our members and staff being the subject to physical and verbal abuse NHS”

O’Connor added: “We will continue to work with the service to tighten up the process around how we deal with such issues, support the staff that have been subject to violence or abuse.

“What we do need is a clear message from the Scottish Ambulance Service, the Scottish Government and indeed all political the parties, that this type of behavior is not acceptable, not towards paramedics, NHS staff or any public sector worker. That message has to be followed up by action and if it does happen then where appropriate criminal prosecution of the individuals should be taken”

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said that being red-flagged wouldn’t mean someone not being treated if police weren’t available: “Getting to the sickest patients will always be our priority, regardless of whether the Police are in attendance – our staff are trained in assessing risk and managing aggression so that they can make a sensible decision based on the circumstances.

“Our staff should not fear for their safety when working, which is why we have introduced a range of measures to help protect them – individual addresses where staff have previously faced violence or threatening behaviour are automatically flagged to our crews, who can then request additional support, only if required. We keep these individual addresses under review to ensure our system is up-to-date.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We value the high-quality care that Scottish Ambulance Service staff provide, often under challenging and physically demanding circumstances. The Emergency Workers Act includes penalties of up to 12 months imprisonment, a £10,000 fine, or both, to be imposed following conviction for offences against ambulance staff and we extended this legislation in 2008 to include health professionals working in the community. For more serious attacks, other offences such as assault can be used which mean offenders can face penalties up to life imprisonment.”

There are currently 820 “red-flagged” addresses in and around Glasgow, significantly more than anywhere else. In the Lothians there are 469 addressees, 216 in Lanarkshire’s ML postcode zone, and 191 in Ayrshire, and 169 addresses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.