Failure to provide adequate care

A paramedic self-referred with an allegation that he carried out inadequate assessments. He failed to meet Clinical Performance Indicators, and failed to take a patient to the hospital who was complaining of chest pains. The registrant had not recorded the reason why he left the patient at home. Following another call to emergency services, the registrant attended with a second crew who found the patient unconscious. The patient subsequently passed away.

The Panel found that these actions amounted to misconduct. The Panel took into account that, whilst this was an isolated incident, it was a serious issue. The Panel was of the opinion that the registrant had breached core tenets of the profession and had put the patient at ‘unwarranted harm’. Whilst the registrant had provided submissions at the ICP stage expressing some remorse for what had happened to the patient, he had stopped engaging with the fitness to practise process from then onwards.

The registrant was an experienced paramedic and formerly a team leader. In his earlier submissions, he explained that he was no longer working in the profession and expressed a desire to retire from practice. Therefore, the Panel had no up-to-date information to demonstrate whether the registrant had shown insight, or that they were capable of remedying the failures. The Panel was not confident as to whether the registrant was currently in employment. In addition, the registrant was previously subject to FTP proceedings in 2014.

The Panel found that the registrant had not learnt from that experience and that his intention to retire from practice demonstrated an unwillingness to resolve any deficiencies in his practice. The Panel took into account the seriousness of the incident. It also considered the effect on public confidence in the profession, and the regulatory body, when making its decision to strike the registrant from the Register.