Detour death paramedic quits job

A paramedic who diverted an ambulance carrying a dying man quits his job

A Teesside paramedic who diverted an ambulance containing a 999 patient who later died had "no regard" for patient care, an investigation has found.

Ali Asghar, a 69-year-old father-of-four, died after the paramedic drove the ambulance to a depot in Stockton on 18 May, instead of the town's hospital.

The paramedic, 53 and a 54-year-old technician who was with the patient at the time, were suspended.

The paramedic has since quit. The technician is being retrained.

Instead of taking the stroke victim to Stockton's North Tees Hospital, the paramedic drove to the town's ambulance station because his shift had overrun.

The 3.3 mile (5.3km) journey from the patient's house to the hospital should have taken less than 10 minutes.

But the delay meant Mr Asghar was not admitted to hospital until 30 minutes after the 999 call was made.

It showed a huge lack of concern for patient care and was a shocking breach of our protocols and procedures Paul Liversidge, NEAS

The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), which has carried out an internal investigation, expressed its condolences to Mr Asghar's family. It has not named the staff members involved.

The NEAS said the paramedic resigned from the service before his disciplinary hearing.

But his case has been referred to the Health Professions Council - the governing body for paramedics in the UK - which may still hold its own inquiry.

The technician, who was treating the patient in the back of the ambulance during the incident, has been disciplined and is going through a retraining programme prior to returning to his role.

Paul Liversidge, director of ambulance operations, said: "We are sorry that this incident occurred and would like to reassure people that the behaviour of the crew involved fell far short of the high standards we expect of our staff in treating patients.

"It showed a huge lack of concern for patient care and was a shocking breach of our protocols and procedures regarding the care of patients and their transport to hospital."

Barry Coppinger, chair of Cleveland's Joint Emergency Committee, said the incident raised "serious concerns" and warranted an independent inquiry.

The NEAS covers, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Teesside.