WHITE:PARAMEDIC WHO PRODDED AMPUTEE PATIENT WITH WALKING STICKS CAUTIONED

A paramedic who prodded a double amputee patient with his walking sticks after he collapsed outside a pub has escaped with a caution.

Teresa White failed to help the man, who uses titanium prosthetic legs, to his feet after a fall.

Assuming he was drunk, White did not conduct a patient assessment and failed to take him to hospital, the Health Professions Council heard.

She was handed a three year caution order after being found guilty of misconduct, with her fitness to practice deemed impaired.

Breathing a sigh of relief, White said: ‘I am absolutely mortified that I have done this.

‘This has had a devastating effect on me and my family.

‘Words can’t explain that job that night but I would do 1,000 things differently.

‘There is no excuse and there nothing I can say about why it went so badly wrong.

‘It just wasn’t my gold standard of service and I’m working really hard to be the paramedic I was proud to be.’

White was called to aid the man, referred to as Patient A, when he was found in the street outside The Prince of Wales pub, in Harborough Road, Northampton, on December 6, 2009.

The paramedic, who was working for the East Midlands Ambulance NHS Trust, told the hearing she had been afraid of the patient after he was violent and verbally abusive in the past.

Describing the patient as ‘a nasty piece of work’ she said he repeatedly told her to ‘f**k off’ on the night of the incident, and she did not want to touch him.

She said she tapped him using the walking sticks to try and rouse him, then roll him over.

White insisted she didn’t mean to harm him, and was trying to prevent him falling asleep, the panel was shown CCTV footage in which she prodded and poked Patient A five or six times.

White, who was on duty with trainee medic Joanna Peakes, said feared for her safety and summoned police when she arrived on the scene.

She insisted that Patient A had been capable of refusing treatment and police officers wanted to take him home.

White was found guilty of failing to take Patient A to hospital, poking and/or prodding the patient with his walking sticks and not helping him to his feet.

It was also proved that she failed to undertake a thorough assessment including checking Patient A’s blood sugar levels and the reason for his collapse, as well as failing to complete a patient report form.

HPC panel chairman Charles O’Brian, said: ‘The panel was satisfied that Teresa White poked and prodded Patient A five or six times.

‘We couldn’t see any evidence of her trying to turn him over. She failed to assist the patient and should have taken a more proactive approach.

‘Teresa White admitted to failing to complete a patient report form, which was particularly serious.

‘She clearly took the view Patient A was not ill and was drunk but took no concern to confirm this.

‘Any ambulance crew called to aid him wouldn’t have the necessary knowledge of the situation, putting the patient at risk.

‘But the panel is of the view that the matters are isolated and also paid attention to the fact Ms White has an unblemished record until the incident and no other concerns have been reported since.

‘We wish her very well in her future career as a paramedic.’
ENDS