By Jonny Greatrex
Sunday Mercury
STAFFORDSHIRE, England — A disgraced paramedic who was suspended for getting high on laughing gas while answering 999 calls has been banned for a further 12 months.
Janine Owen admitted using Entonox — best known as a painkiller used by women during childbirth — when she was confronted by health bosses.
They had become suspicious about the depleted stocks of the drug, which is also called nitrous oxide.
When quizzed over the disappearing gas, the medic said she had taken it because painkillers she used for a medical condition did not alleviate her problem.
A hearing at the Health Professions Council (HPC) heard that Owen had used two cylinders of Entonox during a shift when no patients were treated with the drug. They initially banned her from working as a paramedic for 12 months from October last year.
Now, after another hearing, they have decided she must serve a further year’s ban because she had made no attempt to show she has learned from her mistakes.
“We note that there has been a total lack of engagement on the registrant’s part since the last hearing,” said the panel.
“She has not provided any of the information that the previous panel indicated would be of assistance.
“We direct the registrar to extend the order of suspension of the registration of Janine Owen for a period of 12 months.” Owen, who worked at the Stafford Ambulance Station, was first suspended in October last year after an HPC hearing. The panel was told how maintenance staff at the station became suspicious when they noticed how much Entonox was being used, even when there was no record of a patient being given it.
The canisters being used by Owen, who had ten years’ unblemished service before the laughing gas incident, were marked with black tape so staff could measure how much had been used.
When she admitted using the gas, the paramedic said she had used it on ‘three or four occasions’ in 2008.
At the most recent hearing the HPC said she had only narrowly avoided being struck off.
“The misconduct which brought the registrant before the panel was extremely serious and had the potential to endanger the safety of both patients and other paramedics,” they added.
“By her apparent refusal to engage with the proceedings, the registrant has demonstrated a marked lack of insight and a total disregard for the professional regulatory process.
“The panel notes however, that there is evidence contained within the papers suggesting that in 2009 the Registrant was receiving ongoing treatment for one or more medical conditions.
“Were it not for that, the panel would have been minded to replace the suspension with a striking off order.”
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