Latest news with #medicalemergency
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Paramedic asked student out for dinner and offered to remove her tampon during medical emergency
A paramedic has been struck off the register after offering to remove a student's tampon while she was suffering a medical emergency. James Birdseye, who was employed by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust, told the student he wanted to see her naked and that he had 'slept with other students' while they worked a shift together on June 22 2019. He then conducted a clinical examination of the student without her consent after she had started to unexpectedly bleed, before pulling down her trousers and underwear without permission and making inappropriate remarks about her genital area, according to a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) tribunal panel. The panel found Mr Birdseye's behaviour was 'predatory in nature' and the emergency had given him 'an opportunity to exploit the situation to gain sexual gratification'. The paramedic also kissed the student on her cheek and offered to take her out for a meal and drinks during the incident. Mr Birdseye was suspended by the trust four days after the incident, and resigned from his role on November 4 2019 following an internal investigation. In a statement provided for a review hearing into the matter on May 19 2025, Mr Birdseye said he was 'deeply regretful' of his actions and apologised for any harm or distress he caused to the student. He said: 'I can accept that in the events leading up to the incident with Student A, I displayed an overfamiliarity with them that crossed the boundaries of a normal professional relationship and I acted in a manner than I am not proud of. 'I did not give enough thought to the impact that my behaviour could have on Student A who was in a vulnerable state. 'While I do not agree to having maliciously used this vulnerable state to pursue a sexual relationship with them, I do concede that my behaviour fell drastically short not only of what the profession expected of me but what I should have expected of myself nor only as a practising paramedic but as a person, a mentor and a father of teenage children.' Mr Birdseye said he had undertaken a course on maintaining professional boundaries following the incident, adding: 'I did not adequately alter my view of Student A from colleague to patient'. The HCPC panel found Mr Birdseye's behaviour caused the student 'emotional harm and unwanted sexual harassment' and amounted to serious professional misconduct. 'The panel finds that the registrant's conduct on 22 June 2019 was predatory in nature as Student A was new to the workplace, the registrant had deliberately manipulated the crew rota sheets to ensure he was working with her, there was a power imbalance, and his comments across the day were said in an attempt to establish a future sexual relationship with Student A,' the panel said. 'To this extent the conduct was premeditated, demonstrated an abuse of his professional position and was not isolated in nature. 'The subsequent medical emergency, which could not have been foreseen, gave the registrant an opportunity to exploit the situation to gain sexual gratification.' The panel made an order to strike the paramedic's name from the register after determining his fitness to practise remains impaired, having initially suspended the paramedic for a period of 12 months in April last year. They said: 'While the panel note that the registrant does not wish to return to practice, this may change in the future and not restricting him, given the seriousness of the allegation found proven, would undermine public confidence in the profession and the HCPC.'
News.com.au
21 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Horror bus crash in India tear Aussie family of four from Clyde North, Melbourne
Two members of a family from Melbourne have been killed in a bus crash while in India, with another child left in a coma. Dass Santiago, his wife Sandra Edward and daughters Angela and Natasha embarked on a trip to India two weeks ago, before the tragic accident on May 21. Six people, including 45-year-old Dass, 5-year-old Natasha, Dass's brother and sister-in-law and other relatives, died from their injuries after their van crashed with a bus on a highway en route to Tamilnadu in southern India. Sandra is currently recovering in hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries Their eldest daughter Angela remains in a coma after undergoing two brain surgeries. The family from Clyde North in Melbourne were visiting Dass's ailing mother and also commemorating Dass's older brother, who had died in Sydney the year before. Friends of the family are appealing for help to bring back Sandra and Angela from the government hospital, where they say medical assistance is 'limited'. Philomena Peters, a family friend, told 7News the news was 'absolutely devastating and shattering'. Another family friend, Leon Vieyra said they were 'such a beautiful family'. 'A very generous family … they took a small pilgrim trip to Velankanni which is a very sacred place,' he said 'We need better medical facilities to cope with this magnitude that they're going through.' The GoFundMe has been created by Sandra, who said in the post description that her 'heart is ripped to shreds'. 'I saw my husband die in front of me. That image is burned into my mind, a cruel, relentless torment,' the fundraiser description reads. 'Barely surviving the crash myself with multiple fractures and life-threatening injuries, I clung to the hope that my children were safe. 'Then, the most devastating news imaginable: my youngest daughter, my sweet Tash, who was turning six next month, succumbed to her injuries. How can I ever comprehend that I will never hold my little angel again?'. Ms Edward says that she is appealing for public kindness and humanity amid the ordeal. 'I need help to bury my beloved Dass and my precious Tash,' the description continues. 'And most urgently, I need help to medically evacuate Angie and myself back to Australia. We desperately need the specialised medical care that can give us a chance at recovery and at rebuilding shattered lives. The fundraiser has currently raised $102,670 since being created last week. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was contacted for a comment. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian family in India,' the spokesperson said. 'We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.'
ABC News
2 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Detainee waited alone in police cell for 'critical' 41 minutes after officers decided to call ambulance
A coroner has recommended a police officer be physically present with a detainee at all times while waiting for an ambulance after a man was left alone in his cell and deteriorated during a "critical 41-minute" period. The recommendation was made after an inquest into the death of an Adelaide man heard that after deciding emergency care was required, an officer arranged a police escort before calling for an ambulance. In her findings, South Australia Coroner Sally Giles noted Duy Ngoc Pham, 35, was considered a "high need detainee requiring medical attention" before he suffered a cardiac arrest in a police cell at Elizabeth, in Adelaide's north, and later died in hospital. He had been arrested after he was found semi-conscious and slumped over the steering wheel of a car parked at a service station on Thursday, April 18, 2019. Mr Pham was taken to hospital and diagnosed as suffering opioid toxicity and experiencing drug withdrawal, before being deemed fit for release into police custody. He was taken to the Elizabeth Police Station Cell Complex and charged with trafficking in a controlled drug and driving dangerously to escape police pursuit over an earlier incident. He was refused police bail, and because it was the Easter weekend, was remanded in the cells at Elizabeth to await his first court appearance which would have occurred on the following Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Due to his diagnosed drug withdrawal, Mr Pham was assessed as "presenting a high level of risk" and placed in an observation cell. While detained, he was returned to hospital due to concerns about his health, and was again deemed fit for custody and discharged and returned to a police observation cell. In her findings, Ms Giles noted Mr Pham's condition deteriorated further in the early hours of April 21, 2019, and he was observed "howling and guarding his stomach". He was also seen twice falling in his cell. Ms Giles noted that after the first fall at 4.19am officers had "agreed Mr Pham needed to be returned to hospital", but an ambulance was not called until 4.38am, after a police escort was first arranged. Ms Giles said CCTV of Mr Pham's cell indicated his breathing appeared "rapid" and he appeared "noticeably uncomfortable". "I find that SAAS should have been contacted earlier than 4:38am; SAAS should have been contacted shortly after 4:19am," she said in the findings. Ms Giles said the officer had called the non-urgent number, rather than triple-0, and when the ambulance officers attended at about 5am, he had stopped breathing and was "found to be in cardiac arrest". "Earlier ambulance attendance may have led to a more favourable outcome for Mr Pham," Ms Giles said. During that time, she said Mr Pham was monitored remotely, but no one was in in the cell with him which "may have contributed to the failure to recognise his deterioration". "Consistent physical presence could have increased the likelihood of noticing signs of decline," Ms Giles said. She said it was later discovered that while Mr Pham was suffering from withdrawals, he was also suffering from an undiagnosed duodenal ulcer — a sore in the lining of the small intestine — which "may have subsequently been exacerbated by narcotic withdrawal" and had perforated. Ms Giles noted that an expert had told the inquest it was "impossible to be certain about the timing" of the perforation. In her findings, Ms Giles noted SA Police had made some changes to their custody management practices, but recommended a further update that police make it a "requirement that an officer be physically present in the cell with the detainee at all times while awaiting an ambulance". She further recommended it be "abundantly clear that for a high need detainee requiring medical assessment, an ambulance must be called immediately, and nothing need occur before that", including arrangements for a police escort. An SA Police spokesperson said "a number of changes" had been made to custody management practices since Mr Pham's death. "SAPOL will also give further consideration to the two recommendations made during the Inquest," the spokesperson said.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Predatory' paramedic who tried to chat up student struck off
A paramedic who "exploited" a medical emergency involving a student in an attempt to have a sexual relationship with her has been struck Birdseye, from Berkshire, worked for South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) when the student paramedic complained about him and his conduct in June 2019.A panel heard he conducted a clinical exam on the student without her consent after she unexpectedly started to bleed and made inappropriate and flirtatious Birdseye, who quit SCAS after an investigation in November 2019 and was not working as a paramedic, said he frequently reflected on his actions. The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) said he had told the student he "slept with other students and that his wife did not mind", or words to that effect, during a shift.A panel last year found Mr Birdseye's behaviour was "predatory in nature" because the student paramedic was new to the found he "deliberately manipulated the crew rota sheets to ensure he was working with her" and that other comments "were said in an attempt to establish a future sexual relationship" with her. 'Exploit the situation' The panel heard during the medical emergency, Mr Birdseye offered to remove her tampon and told her he wanted to see her also heard he kissed the student on her cheek and offered to take her out for a meal and drinks during the panel said Mr Birdseye used the medical emergency as "an opportunity to exploit the situation to gain sexual gratification".That panel suspended him for a year, but he has since been struck off the medical register after a review hearing earlier this Birdseye said he had been "the subject of much abuse" after details of his case were published online, but the HCPTS said he had not "adequately addressed his clinical failings or his misconduct".In a statement he provided for the review hearing, Mr Birdseye said he was "deeply regretful" and apologised for any harm or distress he caused to the added: "I displayed an overfamiliarity with them that crossed the boundaries of a normal professional relationship and I acted in a manner than I am not proud of."Mr Birdseye said his behaviour "fell drastically short" of "what the profession expected of me", but also "as a person, a mentor and a father of teenage children". You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Paramedic struck off after offering to take out student's tampon in emergency
A paramedic has been struck off the register after offering to remove a student's tampon while she was suffering a medical emergency. James Birdseye, who was employed by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust, told the student he wanted to see her naked and that he had 'slept with other students' while they worked a shift together on June 22 2019. He then conducted a clinical examination of the student without her consent after she had started to unexpectedly bleed, before pulling down her trousers and underwear without permission and making inappropriate remarks about her genital area, according to a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) tribunal panel. The panel found Mr Birdseye's behaviour was 'predatory in nature' and the emergency had given him 'an opportunity to exploit the situation to gain sexual gratification'. The paramedic also kissed the student on her cheek and offered to take her out for a meal and drinks during the incident. Mr Birdseye was suspended by the trust four days after the incident, and resigned from his role on November 4 2019 following an internal investigation. In a statement provided for a review hearing into the matter on May 19 2025, Mr Birdseye said he was 'deeply regretful' of his actions and apologised for any harm or distress he caused to the student. He said: 'I can accept that in the events leading up to the incident with Student A, I displayed an overfamiliarity with them that crossed the boundaries of a normal professional relationship and I acted in a manner than I am not proud of. 'I did not give enough thought to the impact that my behaviour could have on Student A who was in a vulnerable state. 'While I do not agree to having maliciously used this vulnerable state to pursue a sexual relationship with them, I do concede that my behaviour fell drastically short not only of what the profession expected of me but what I should have expected of myself nor only as a practising paramedic but as a person, a mentor and a father of teenage children.' Mr Birdseye said he had undertaken a course on maintaining professional boundaries following the incident, adding: 'I did not adequately alter my view of Student A from colleague to patient'. The HCPC panel found Mr Birdseye's behaviour caused the student 'emotional harm and unwanted sexual harassment' and amounted to serious professional misconduct. 'The panel finds that the registrant's conduct on 22 June 2019 was predatory in nature as Student A was new to the workplace, the registrant had deliberately manipulated the crew rota sheets to ensure he was working with her, there was a power imbalance, and his comments across the day were said in an attempt to establish a future sexual relationship with Student A,' the panel said. 'To this extent the conduct was premeditated, demonstrated an abuse of his professional position and was not isolated in nature. 'The subsequent medical emergency, which could not have been foreseen, gave the registrant an opportunity to exploit the situation to gain sexual gratification.' The panel made an order to strike the paramedic's name from the register after determining his fitness to practise remains impaired, having initially suspended the paramedic for a period of 12 months in April last year. They said: 'While the panel note that the registrant does not wish to return to practice, this may change in the future and not restricting him, given the seriousness of the allegation found proven, would undermine public confidence in the profession and the HCPC.'
