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Ambulance Crew Arrested – Charged With Manslaughter of Patient

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Accused of Gross Negligence and Misconduct

BRITISH POLICE HAVE ARRESTED FOUR employees of the West Midlands Ambulance Service and charged them with "suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence and misconduct in a public office" relating to a death outside a hospital emergency room in June of this year.  Also charged was a hospital employee, one of seven hospital workers who were later suspended for their actions in the incident.

The story begins on June 23 when the patient Carl Cope, 47, called 9-9-9 for an ambulance complaining of chest pains.  He was transported to the Walsall Manor Hospital in West Midlands where he was turned over to the A & E staff (emergency room).  While he was there, Cope left the A & E to get a drink and stepped outside where he collapsed from what the post mortem determined was a heart attack.  While Cope was laying on the sidewalk, several hospital employees, including nurses, and ambulance medics walked by him without stopping to see what was wrong or offering any aid.  One of the medics who had brought him to the ER witnessed the collapse and reportedly went to Security to report it instead of tending to the patient.  Another medic who was sitting in a different ambulance was watching but never got out of the unit to check him out.

Carl Cope  (BBC News)

The four ambulance workers were suspended almost immediately and one of them was fired.  A second medic resigned just before his hearing was concluded.  In October two hospital nurses, a receptionist, and a porter were dismissed.

The ambulance workers arrested today are ages 26, 34, 45 and 53 and have already been bailed. The hospital worker, 44, remains in custody.

More information at Nursing Times HERE.
More details from BBC News HERE.

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Posted by on December 14, 2012 • Filed under: current events, EMS Topics, News • Tagged: , ,

A Paramedic You Can Look Up To

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Awarded "Paramedic of the Year" For His Bravery

BRITAIN'S TALLEST EMS worker at 6-ft. 8-in. was awarded the title "Paramedic of the Year" in recognition of his rescuing two people from a burning house in September, 2011.  Lincoln Dodd, 41, nicknamed "Tiny" by his fellow squadsmen used his height to reach a couple trapped in a second floor window by a fire set by an arsonist that was roaring through the first floor.  His ambulance was first on the scene and the firefighters had not arrived yet when he found the couple in distress.

Tiny is the medic on the left  (Daily Mail / Newsteam)

The Daily Mail tells us:

Recalling the moment he managed to pluck the stranded pair from the inferno, he added: 'Someone had poured petrol through their letterbox and set it alight, the couple were trapped upstairs.

'I realised I could reach them if they lowered themselves from the upstairs window where they were trapped.  I put my hands up so I could reach their ankles and lowered them onto my shoulders so I could get them down.'

Speaking after he received the award Lincoln, who has served as a paramedic with West Midlands Ambulance Service for seven years, said: 'The award was a bit of a bolt out of the blue, but very nice all the same.'

He received his award on the floor before the House of Lords.

Read the full STORY HERE.
The Ledbury Reporter has MORE.
West Midlands Ambulance Service WEBSITE.

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Posted by on December 7, 2012 • Filed under: EMS Topics, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: , ,

It’s Not a Horse Ambulance ….

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……IT’S AN AMBULANCE HORSE.  The West Midlands Ambulance Service in Staffordshire, England, have recruited an Irish sports horse, “Chase,” to help get paramedics to locations where an ambulance can’t reach.  The 7-yr.-0ld will respond to emergency calls at Cannock Chase Country Park, which covers 3,000 acres.

StaffsLive reports:

His owner Mark Bennett, 30, a trauma instructor with West Midlands Fire Service, has kitted Chase out to carry a responder bag, oxygen, a mask, a defibrillator, bandages, splints and blankets to help with emergencies.

“I have already put my first aid skills to the test in Cannock Chase on a motorbike,” he said.  “Being able to respond on horseback means I can quickly access patients in difficult, hard to reach locations, even before an ambulance arrives.”

horse a staffslive

StaffsLive photo

Bennett, the equine “ambulance driver”, and  Chase are teaming up to cover the large park because they can cross rough country much faster than traditional emergency vehicles.  He tells the Daily Express:  “It might sound crazy but this horse could really save lives. People get into all sorts of trouble in the park.  Mountain bikers, runners and walkers can all get injured and it’s not always easy for ambulances to get to them quickly.

“The horse is great at navigating the terrain and can get to any area within quarter of an hour.  Everything that we might need to keep someone alive is on that horse.”

Posted by on May 5, 2010 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics • Tagged: , ,