it a shame when something lke this happens, for the family, and also the crew involved for slightly different reasons; unfortunately as usual the press have jumped on the band wagon and decided to have a go at the ambulance service again... I don't know what it's like in Norfolk but up here (NW) the police will do their utmost to get the patient into the ambulance rather than their van simply because it's easier for them (and less paperwork - their words not mine)... Why doesn't the media focus on the level of abuse that we face daily rather than the "ambulance crew refuses to treat pt"? Having done this job for over 10 years and been assaulted a number of times I have to admit I would have done the same as the crew - as I suspect 99% of experienced road staff would have done... There's always the option of asking the police to transport the pt up to cas in their van, however if the pt beame violent in the a & e they woul drefuse to treat him; so then the headline would read "A + E dept refused to treat pt"