Harrowing moment medical technician feared patient could kill him revisited on BBC’s Crimewatch

A London Ambulance Service Emergency Medical Technician has revealed he feared a patient could kill him and his crewmate during a violent attack, in a new episode of BBC’s Crimewatch.

Harvey Jenkins, 26, shared his story to raise awareness of the risks ambulance crews face, in the latest episode of the long-running programme, which aired this morning (3 March).

The dramatic short film shows ambulance CCTV capturing the terrifying moment the patient jumps on the bonnet and kicks through the windscreen.

Harvey said: “My mind was racing trying to think what to do because if I didn’t think of a solution we would have been seriously injured or killed.”

Harvey and his crewmate had been nearing the end of their shift when they were called to a housing estate in Rotherhithe for a road traffic collision involving a bicycle.

The patient was distressed but appeared uninjured so Harvey’s crewmate tried to help him find his bike while Harvey stayed on the ambulance to complete some patient notes.

But moments later Harvey’s crewmate pressed the red button on his radio – a distress call.

Harvey said: “When I heard that I knew that he was in danger. I saw the patient trying to attack my colleague – swinging at him.

“I thought to myself, I can’t let this happen. The patient’s attention then turned to me. His demeanour was very focused, fixated on us. There was that underlying fear that this was serious. This man intends to really harm us.”

Then the patient walked away and the ambulance crew thought they were safe and got back on the ambulance to leave the scene.

Harvey said: “It’s one of those things when you get a moment of calm to process what’s happened.”

But the calm was not to last. The patient appeared again and began attacking the ambulance.

Harvey said: “He got his foot through the windscreen and we managed to get into the back of the ambulance. Then he started throwing stuff.

“He threw bricks at the window and eventually they smashed. He was running around the ambulance, hitting it and screaming. It was very intense and didn’t really cool down at all.

“One brick hit me but I was ok. I can’t say for sure how long it went on for. Maybe between five or 10 minutes but it felt like hours.

“When we saw blue lights outside, the police, I thought ‘ok we have survived.’”

The patient Seiitbek Erkin Uulu was arrested the same night and later pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, and being drunk and disorderly.

He was sentenced to community service, a fine, and a four-month alcohol ban.

The attack is one of a growing number of serious violent incidents that prompted London Ambulance Service to launch its hard-hitting ‘Respect’ campaign.

The campaign was designed to raise awareness of the abuse crews and call handlers face and promote safe, respectful behaviour.

The Service has also introduced extra safety measures including body-worn cameras, panic buttons, electronic tracking of ambulances, and a dedicated Violence Reduction Unit to protect staff and support prosecutions.

While Harvey was disappointed by the sentence, he told Crimewatch:

“This was a very rare occasion and most days, people are lovely. It’s very motivating to go to someone and end up leaving them in a better state when we found them. As long as that happens, I’ll keep doing my job.”

There is information on how to join the team at London Ambulance Service on the careers page of our website.

You can catch up with BBC One’s Crimewatch on BBC iPlayer.