Paramedic accused woman of ‘faking’ illness before she died
APARAMEDIC who told a young Rochdale woman she was feigning illness before she later died in hospital from organ failure has avoided a ban on practising.
Anthony Morris, a former paramedic with the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), has had conditions placed upon him following a Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service hearing into an incident, which saw young mum Beatrice Lovane collapse at the bottom of her staircase.
He told the panel adjudicating that he was “disgusted” by his behaviour and even questioned his own ability to carry on as a paramedic.
His remorse was taken into account when it was ruled Mr Morris, a newly qualified paramedic at the time, would be allowed to continue practicing, reports Lancs Live. NWAS bosses have now confirmed Mr Morris was dismissed following an investigation after the incident.
Beatrice, 22, died at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury after collapsing at her home in neighbouring Rochdale in the summer of 2016.
She had an undiagnosed liver condition which led her to falling ill after taking co-codamol tablets which had been prescribed for stomach pain. A post-mortem concluded the tablets caused Ms Lovane to suffer organ failure as she had a fatty liver.
However Ms Lovane’s mother told an inquest into her death in July 2017 that she was told by paramedics her daughter “was faking it and doing it for attention.”
Mr Morris was the first paramedic to arrive on the scene at around 11pm on August 26 to attend to Ms Lovane, the hearing last month was told. While seeing to Ms Lovane, Mr Morris requested an amber level ambulance back up, something he was alleged to have said was “for my own sanity”, describing the situation as chaotic.
It was then alleged that he made comments to the effect that Ms Lovane was not unwell and was in fact, feigning illness before collapsing in the stairwell.
During the time spent providing assistance to Ms Lovane, it was also alleged that Mr Morris made a comment to the effect that she was wasting his time and he could be helping other people in need.
A Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) hearing ruled that on both accounts, Mr Morris made those comments towards Ms Lovane just hours before she died.
Significantly, it also ruled that Mr Morris failed to take Ms Lovane to hospital in a timely manner despite her intermittently hyperventilating.
This was despite Mr Morris telling NWAS that he did in fact provide care in a timely manner when he hadn’t, it ruled.
As well as this, the HCPTS hearing ruled that Mr Morris failed to complete and record an adequate clinical assessment and/or examination for Ms Lovane.
It also ruled that he made Ms Lovane walk to the ambulance despite intermittently hyperventilating.
This was despite a request for a wheelchair from Ms Lovane’s mother.
Mr Morris was also proven to have failed to assist Ms Lovane’s mother when Ms Lovane collapsed during the paramedic’s visit.
Despite this, the panel holding the hearing from September 22 to 24, said the incident “did not represent a fair sample” of Mr Morris’ work to assess his competence.
This was in part due to him being a newly qualified paramedic at the time of the incident.
Regarding the allegations proved against him, the panel said the comments were “inexcusable regardless of the circumstances prevailing at the time.”
Mr Morris accepted that his fitness to practise was impaired.
Taking his remorse into account, Mr Morris was ruled to allow to continue as a paramedic but with conditions lasting one year due to both personal and public interests.
The conditions mean that for 12 months, he must only work as a registered paramedic where he is directly working with another registered paramedic.
Mr Morris must also place himself, and remain under, the supervision of a workplace supervisor who is a registered paramedic.
A North West Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Again, we would like to express our sincere condolences to Miss Lovane’s family for their very sad loss.
“At the time of the inquest, we fully accepted that the level of care Miss Lovane received was far below the standard we would expect. We require all of our staff to uphold our values in terms of respect and dignity and there is no place within in our organisation for those who do not.
“Following a thorough investigation, the clinical staff involved were dismissed from service and no longer work for our trust.”