Union seeks taskforce after ambo's bashing

A union wants the Queensland government to set up a taskforce to help stop paramedics being bashed and possibly killed on the job.

United Voice is disgusted by the latest attack, which left paramedic Brad Johnson with serious facial injuries after he was bashed by a patient on the Gold Coast on Friday night.

"We are concerned that with the rise in the illegal drug scene, one of our members will ultimately be killed," the union's secretary Gary Bullock has told ABC radio.

"I can tell you our members are extremely angry about the situation. They've been quietly raising their concerns for a matter of time. I've got a view they won't be so silent in coming weeks and months until we get some resolution to this."

Mr Bullock said the union must convene a task force, including representatives of the Queensland Police Service, to urgently look at what can be done to boost security measures for ambulance officers.

He said self-defence training that had been offered to paramedics had since halted.

"I'm getting told that the training stopped, once we stopped raising the issue," Mr Bullock said.

"It's only a matter of time until a paramedic is killed and that's just unacceptable."

A 47-year-old man has been charged with assaulting Mr Johnson and is due to front the Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.

The attack has generated an outpouring of anger on social media, after photos of the paramedic's swollen and bloodied face were shared online.

The Queensland Ambulance Service has also turned to Facebook to vent its fury over the assault, which happened in the back of an ambulance as the patient was being taken to hospital.

"We are seething about this disgusting anti-social behaviour, which is becoming more common in our community," the service posted on Facebook.

It urged members of the public to continue speaking out against violence aimed at front-line responders.

"It is not acceptable in a modern civilised society and it needs to stop."

Health Minister Cameron Dick has condemned the attack but he's sure to face more questions about security at a press conference later on Monday.