Throughout the world paramedics provide life-saving assistance to sick or injured patients as the first response on the scene of an emergency, but their work environment is very different to most workplaces and each call presents a new place of work requiring the constant identification of hazards and risk mitigation.

Professor Keith Townsend (Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources at Griffith University, Australia) examines the types of violence paramedics are exposed to, the frequency with which they are exposed, and the systems of support provided through the HRM systems and beyond.