Belfast Telegraph
BELFAST, UK — A paramedic was drunk when driving an ambulance on an urgent call-out during which he was involved in an accident, a professional misconduct hearing ruled yesterday.
Robert Kane admitted to his supervisor he was drunk and offered him money to forget about it, the Health Professions Council (HPC) fitness-to-practise panel, sitting in Belfast, was told.
Kane, who has already been sacked by the health trust which employed him as a paramedic in Coleraine following an internal disciplinary hearing, failed to attend the hearing in relation to the incident which occurred on February 14, 2007.
The Conduct and Competence Committee of the HPC decided to go ahead in his absence after making contact with Kane who said his car had broken down and it did not suit him to travel by bus or train. He said he was happy for the proceedings to continue in his absence.
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