news

Last night, Australia saw the devastating reality that paramedics face every day.

A NSW paramedic has described the helplessness and “trauma” that comes with attending domestic violence call outs.

“I get so angry that it happens,” paramedic Sahar said in Tuesday night’s episode of Channel Ten’s documentary-style series Ambulance Australia.

“I do feel the trauma. I experience the emotions vividly, I suppose.”

During the episode, New South Wales Ambulance paramedics Joe and Sahar attended a call to a woman who claims she fell down the stairs and is worried because her jaw is now misaligned.

However, the emergency response centre operator suspected domestic assault – a fact that is all but confirmed when the two paramedics attend the scene.

The woman, who wasn’t identified on screen, repeatedly said that she “didn’t want to talk about it” when asked whether her injuries were the result of someone hitting her.

Sahar pointed out that her injuries – head and jaw wounds – didn’t match with falling down the stairs, but the clearly upset woman stuck to her story, before pleading, “can you please just stop asking me?”

Video by TenPlay

The paramedic calmly told the woman she would report this to the nursing staff at the hospital and see if there was someone else there she wanted to speak with.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sahar later said she had been affected by the incident.

“I can handle the blood and guts, I can handle the medical side of it,” she said.

“Something’s broken, I can fix it.

“But I can’t take the pain away from someone dealing with domestic violence.”

ambulance-australia-tv-show
Sahar found the woman's injuries weren't consistent with a fall. Image: Channel Ten
ADVERTISEMENT

Sahar said since joining NSW ambulance as a  "naive" 23-year-old she has seen and experienced so much and now considers her own wellbeing when attending calls with violence.

"Going to a job where there's been some kind of violence involved, I think it's a matter of, 'Do I have all the support that I need? Am I ready to face what I'm about to face?'"

It's not an uncommon scene for paramedics across the state - and the country - to attend. In NSW alone there were more than 28,000 incidents of domestic violence last year.

And the victim's response in the episode was also all too common.

"People hide what's going on in their lives because they might feel like they might be weak, or no one will believe them, or that it's their fault," Sahar said.

"But it's never your fault, you're not weak.

"One of the hardest things you can do is reach out to someone."

Sahar also shared why it was so important that she try to get a domestic violence victim to seek further support.

"You just want them to give us a chance to help them - because it might be the last time that someone is able to offer that help."

Ambulance Australia airs Tuesdays at 7.30pm on Channel Ten.

If you have experienced domestic violence or assault, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

00:00 / ???