Complaints against paramedics soar to record levels

A record number of complaints have been made against paramedics including some found guilty of child porn and drugs offences.

More than 260 complaints were made to regulators at the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in 2012/13 up from just 43 in 2005/06.

They include allegations that one male paramedic sent sexually explicit texts to a boy he believed to be under-age. Another groomed a teenager on the internet before sexually assaulting him. Others have been struck off the register for stealing from patients in their care.

Dr Jean Turner of the Scottish Patients Association has labelled the rise “disturbing”.

She said: “Any medical profession needs a high standard of person who does not abuse that position. It is clear how vulnerable patients are when they are sick.”

The latest Fitness to Practise report by the HCPC reveals there have been more than 1,653 complaints against health workers, the highest in a decade.

They include allegations of misconduct or incompetence not just about paramedics but also against therapists, social workers, biomedical scientists and hospital admin staff. The number of complaints against paramedics in 2012/13 was 262 about 15% of the total. Many have been struck off after being found guilty of crimes. They include paramedic Edward Trickett who lured a 14-year-old boy into a forest and molested him after grooming him on an internet chat room.

Trickett, 32, from Manchester, was jailed for four years for his crimes. He was removed from the HCPC register in June 2012.

Paramedic William Mitchell was captured on CCTV fondling a vulnerable disabled grandmother. Mitchell, 57, of Fencehouses, County Durham, touched the victim’s breasts as she lay semi-conscious in the back of his ambulance.

The former North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) paramedic who resigned when the service launched an investigation faces jail after admitting misconduct in public office by wilfully engaging in sexual activity on duty.

He has been temporarily suspended by the HCPC until after his sentencing on January 24. In November a Sunday Post investigation revealed hundreds of doctors were still being allowed to practice with criminal convictions.

Roger Goss, founder of Patient Concern, said: “What is obvious is that crimes and misdemeanours by ambulance crews are, quite rightly, grounds for being unfit to practise and are clearly leading to them being struck off.

“So why is it that any different for these highly-paid doctors who are still practising with criminal convictions? What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander.”