LONDON — A London Ambulance Service paramedic refused to help a woman thought to be having complications from a pregnancy because he was tired, The Guardian reports.
Edmund Daly, a team leader at the time, said that he was near the end of a 12-hour night shift and it would have been dangerous to respond to the call because crew members were very tired.
He received a call at 5:25 a.m. on May 29, 2013 for a 43-year-old woman who was vomiting and dizzy, and thought to be suffering complications from a pregnancy. She waited about 90 minutes before being transported a hospital.
Daly is facing one count of misconduct and did not attend a hearing with the Health and Care Professions Council. In a written statement he asked the panel to consider his health problems as mitigating factor, and said a call to a fire in 2009 had a “profound” effect on him, the Guardian reports.
At the hearing, presenting officer Simon Walters said Daly told his crew that in his opinion they could not go on the call people there wasn’t enough time to attend to the patient and finish their shift on time.
“In particular, Mr. Daly made reference to the fact they had not had a break during their shift,” Walters said. “Despite reminded Mr. Daly that there was a patient at the other end of the line, he continued to refuse.”