By Ellen Branagh
Press Association
DERBY, England — A paramedic refused to go into a pub to treat a woman because she was frightened, then later said she could not treat her on her own, an inquest heard today.
Melissa Procter-Blain, 32, collapsed at The Crown pub in Spondon, Derby, in July 2009.
An inquest at Derby Coroner’s Court heard the mother-of-three previously had surgery on her knee after falling over at the same pub in May 2009.
She was found to have a blood clot in July 2009, but two days later on July 11 collapsed in the pub, where she then died.
Today her mother and step-father described how a paramedic called to the pub refused to treat their daughter.
Her step-father John Page said he and his wife were in The Crown when one of Miss Procter-Blain’s friends came out of the toilet saying she had fainted.
“But once she came out you could see it wasn’t somebody fainting,’' he said.
“She was suffering to breathe, she was trying to get words out, she was still conscious, she could hear what I was saying. She had gone pale and clammy.’'
An ambulance was called but Mr Page told the court the lone female paramedic sent to the scene drove past and parked down the road.
He claimed when someone asked the paramedic to come in, she refused.
“He spoke to her and she was having none of that, she did not want to get out of the car in any way, shape or form.
“He said, ‘I have asked her to come up and she won’t come up as she is frightened’.’'
Mr Page said she agreed to go in only once the pub landlord “guaranteed her safety’’.
“He had a word with her and she was saying, ‘I’m frightened because it’s got a bad reputation’, this is what he told me afterwards.
“She kept saying, ‘I’m not going to because of my safety’, that’s why Kevin guaranteed her safety.’'
Mr Page said once the paramedic came into the pub, she then refused to help Miss Procter-Blain, saying she could not treat her on her own.
“She came and stood just inside the doorway of the pub and I said again, ‘please help my daughter’,’' he said.
“She said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do anything on my own’. She kept repeating that all the time.’'
Mr Page said when a woman on the phone to the ambulance call-taker, who was instructing her partner on how to treat Miss Procter-Blain, was advised to hand over treatment to the paramedic, the paramedic replied: “No I can’t, I am not allowed to administer CPR on my own.
“That was her comment four or five times on the night, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do that’,’' he told the court.
“The only time that woman moved to do anything for my daughter was when she took the curved plastic tube thing to put it in her throat but that was only because the other ambulance arrived outside otherwise she would have still been stood there.’'
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