Paramedic told heart attack patient to 'be quiet and clean up his own vomit'



A paramedic ordered a heart attack patient to be quiet and clean up his own vomit as he writhed in agony on a hospital floor, a disciplinary hearing heard.

Ambulance worker Colin Shields failed to carry out basic checks and did not recognise the tell-tale signs of a heart attack - mistaking the patient’s symptoms for toothache.

A nurse at the hospital was stunned when she entered the room and found the man mopping up his sick with paper towels.

Failure: Colin Shields must now retrain if he wants to work in an ambulance again

Shield has now been given 10 months to retrain or face being struck off following a fitness to practise hearing by the Health Professions Council (HPC).

The panel heard the victim, identified only as Patient A, dialled 999 because he was suffering severe jaw and lower back pain - classic symptoms of heart attack.

But when Shields arrived at his home in Manchester he failed to carry out even the most basic medical checks, and did not provide the patient - a diabetic - with any treatment.

It was only when Patient A demanded to be taken to hospital that Shields bundled him into the back of his ambulance and drove him to the nearby Manchester Royal Infirmary, the panel heard.

Shields did not ask about Patient A’s medical history, so did not know he also suffered from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, making him a prime candidate for a heart attack.

Laura Napley, for the HPC, said: ‘Mr Shields did not carry out any medical assessment of the patient, made him walk to and from the ambulance unaided and did not complete a patient report form.

‘At the hospital, Patient A followed Mr Shields into a treatment room and was told to sit on the bed and wait for a doctor.

‘Due to his intense pain, the patient said he preferred to lie on the floor.

‘When he subsequently vomited, Mr Shields told him to be quiet and clean up the mess.’

Doctors later found he had suffered a massive heart attack and was minutes from death when they started treatment.

The HPC, which regulates paramedics, accused Shields of repeatedly failing to assess Patient A’s condition, measure his vital signs or provide him with treatment.

Shields admitted most of the allegations against him, saying he was 'distracted' on the day of the incident, July 30 2007.

He told the panel: ‘My mind wasn’t on the job. My head was away with the clouds.

‘I’d had some bad news about my dad’s health that day, so I really wasn’t concentrating. If I’d been thinking straight, things might have been different.

‘It’s not an excuse, and I know I let the patient down.’

Shields added: ‘I didn’t know what was wrong with him. I thought he had toothache.

‘He just seemed rather noisy and boisterous while he was being sick.’

The circumstances of Shields’ negligence came to light after ambulance bosses took him to task over his incomplete patient report form, and interviewed Patient A and his brother.

The panel heard Shields - who has 25 years’ experience as a paramedic - had received a warning and extra training in 2006 after failing to fill in crucial forms correctly.

Shields denied his fitness to practise was impaired.

However, in cross-examination he admitted he may not have recognised Patient A’s heart attack symptoms under any circumstances.

The HPC panel, sitting in central London, yesterday ruled he had demonstrated misconduct and incompetence, and that his fitness to practice was impaired.

Chairman Elspeth Metcalfe said: ‘This was a very serious set of circumstances. Fortunately, the patient in question did not come to any harm.

‘But the story could easily have been very different, and so much more serious.’



The HPC imposed a Conditions of Practise Order which requires Shields to complete three sets of paramedic training within 10 months if he wishes to continue in the profession.

An internal disciplinary hearing at North West Ambulance NHS Trust had earlier found Shields guilty of gross misconduct, and imposed a final written warning.

Unison officer Andy Gill, who represented Shields in the HPC fitness to practise hearing, said: ‘He knows he acted improperly, and that he will be sacked if anything like this happens again.’