Dylan's Story

This page is being developed. 

Paramedic Dylan Lloyd Davies was left with life-changing injuries after an attack by a patient.

Dylan was called to reports of a stabbing in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, in December 2020, but on entering the property, found the patient to be uncooperative.

In the presence of North Wales Police, the patient physically attacked Dylan, leaving him with a serious shoulder injury.

Dylan recalls: “The initial report we had was that a man had been stabbed six times, but when we got there, there wasn’t a lot of blood.

“We were trying to understand what had happened to the man and make a scene assessment but he turned aggressive, and shouted to be left alone.

“He squared up to me so I put my hand out to create some space, but at that point he rugby tackled me across the room, physically lifting me off my feet.

“When I tried to defend myself, we both fell on top of the metal bed frame, him landing on top of me.

“I’ve been doing this job for a long time and you get a sixth sense when something is about to go wrong, but I didn’t get that here which is the frightening thing.

“I didn’t feel threatened at all until it was too late.”

Police arrested the patient, but it was only later that Dylan realised he had sustained a serious injury.

He said: “Between the shock and the adrenaline, I felt fine initially.

“I went back to station to report it and de-brief with my colleagues, then while we were on the way to the next call, I realised I couldn’t lift my arm.”

Dylan, who had to work from home on alternative duties after the attack, said: “My frustration on a scale of 1-10 is eleven, to be honest.

“Paramedicine is the job I’ve been doing for 17 years, and this split-second act by one man means I can no longer do that – I can’t help people.

“The nature of our work means you sometimes come to expect aggression from members of the public, but it doesn’t mean you should stand for it.”

At Caernarfon Magistrates’ Court in October 2021, Cemlyn Hughes pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker, and was given an 11-week custodial sentence suspended for a year.

He was also ordered to abstain from alcohol for 120 days and pay £500 compensation to Dylan.

You can support the campaign on social media by using the hashtag #WithUsNotAgainstUs.