Suicidal patient made to walk down the stairs with broken back

A paramedic made a suicidal patient walk down three flights of stairs with a broken back after he jumped out of a second storey window, a tribunal heard.

Mark McKenzie, who works for North West Ambulance Service, found the man in bed with bloodstained sheets after he managed to get up and walk to his bedroom after the jump.

The patient told the paramedic what had happened – but McKenzie did not believe him, the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service was told.

Kathryn Sheridan for the HCPTS said: ‘The patient himself confirmed that he jumped out of a second floor window.

‘In spite of this disclosure Mr McKenzie did not think he had jumped out of the window.

‘He said the bins and bushes below the window had been undisturbed and blood was only in the interior.

‘A decision was taken to transport the patient to hospital. He was made to walk down three flights of stairs.

‘The patient was subsequently diagnosed with a fractured spine and pelvis.’

McKenzie did not attend the hearing in south London and his mother Susan, showed up to represent him.

Diana Hughes, the resettlement worker who visited the patient said: ‘I was upset at the way in which the patient had been treated.

‘I just felt I was not listened to. That this gentleman had jumped out the window and he had done it before and had no reason to lie.’

The NWAS covers a large area of the North West, including Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside

McKenzie faces a series of charges including failing to undertake an appropriate examination of the man, Patient A, on 19 February 2016 in that he dismissed the possibility of a spinal injury sustained from a significant fall, despite; being informed by the Mental Health Resettlement Worker of Patient A’s history and mental health which included previous suicidal ideation; being informed by the Mental Health Resettlement Worker that Patient A had told her he had jumped from a second floor window; being informed by Patient A that he had jumped from the second floor window, landed on the floor, got up and walked back up the stairs, or words to that effect.

If the panel rules that his fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct or lack of competence he could face a ban.

The hearing continues.
ends