Probe into ambulance fall-out
PATIENTS' ombudsman Carmen Flores has called for the prosecution to look into why a young woman 'fell' from a moving ambulance on the AP-7 through Ondara over Easter.
PATIENTS' ombudsman Carmen Flores has called for the prosecution to look into why a young woman 'fell' from a moving ambulance on the AP-7 through Ondara over Easter.
Sra Flores says it is 'impossible' for a patient inside an ambulance to open the door of her own accord and hurl herself out.
German expat Michael Kaworsky, from Moraira, witnessed the horrifying incident on his way to a holiday park in Daimús (La Safor).
Extremely distressed by the sight of the woman, whom he described as 'between 20 and 40', lying on the road covered in blood, Kaworsky was even more upset by the way the ambulance drivers dealt with the patient.
After blocking the highway with his car to protect the unconscious woman, Herr Kaworsky says he told the ambulance staff they needed to call the police and a doctor.
But the drivers 'shoved her roughly' onto a stretcher, refused to send for help and said it was the patient's own fault 'because she's mad'.
It turns out she suffered from mental health problems and was being moved from Alicante General Hospital to Valencia's Dr Peset Hospital.
The ambulance drivers swore that the patient was strapped down to a stretcher in the back of the vehicle and had a supervisor with her, but Kaworsky in-
Ombudsman calls for probe into case of psychiatric patient who fell from vehicle onto AP-7 in Ondara
sists she was alone – in fact, it was only the expat's flashing lights that told the ambulance men what had happened.
Sra Flores says a investigation is 'fully justified' and that the prosecution should 'take this incident into account' to ensure that it 'never happens again'.
She considers that a criminal offence may have been committed, or at least professional negligence.
Michael Kaworsky believed the woman would not survive, but is relieved to hear that she is still alive, in hospital and expected to make a full recovery.