How Can This Incident Carry Such A Lenient Sentence?

[Pocket_Rocket]

he family of the poor guy who died must be jumping up and down with anger after watching this video - I know I would be.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31429726

[ummmm]

Because the article isn't full of the full facts.

For all we know the victim could have been steaming when the paramedic picked him up initially so he might have been dismissive we he collapsed. We just don't know.

Hospitals don't actually run like Casualty or Holby.

[Pocket_Rocket]

Thanks Ummm - I worked in the NHS for 25yrs and I am acutely aware how they are run. Even if this man was 'steaming' as you put it, the video shows the paramedic derelict of his duty, or any compassion.

[ladybirder]

http://news.sky.com/story/1425896/uncaring-paramedic-stood-over-dying-patient

He wasn't drunk.

[Pocket_Rocket]

Thank you Ladybirder.

[ladybirder]

You're welcome PR. And for the record I also think the sentence was too lenient.

[Old_Geezer]

The (ex) paramedic seems to have been in the wrong job. Presumably he was fully trained, and at the very least could have got the help from colleagues. Yet in an emergency he was unable to act. Not mentally capable of it, even though one would hope most bystanders would have been savvy enough to do more. Very sad for the family/deceased.

[Peter Pedant]

If you have ever been to oone of these things it is difficult not to shout - " hold it it wasnt like that, I was there !"

Narty paramedic did not CAUSE the death - the patient was unattended for 30s and so it is not possible to say BUT FOR the dereliction of duty - this fella would have been alive

so in some ways he was unlucky

Here is another case - quite famous - where the parents blamed the doctors but the narty hospital had to admit in the end, it hadnt disclosed a report saying the Hospital was at fault - for a year during the investigation.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1114654/

[Pocket_Rocket]

The 'patient' was unattended for 7 mins according to the footage. The paramedic spoke to him within a minute, but walked away.

[Sqad]

The prognosis for that patient, given the reports, was poor........death probably inevitable.

However poor PR from the Ambulance service.

Senetence...about right.

[ummmm]

PR...sorry. I was probably more hoping the bloke was drunk which reflected in the paramedics attitude..like a 'here we go again'

Clearly not...Shameful behaviour but not sure what the sentence should have been.

[Pocket_Rocket]

Why is the sentence 'about right' though Sqad? I really do not get it. If a person is medically trained and in a highly responsible position, allowed my son, brother, father etc to lie there dying, I would be incensed at the sentence.

[Sqad]

\\\\Why is the sentence 'about right' though Sqad?\\\

Because..........taking the description of the events and considering the prognosis even with instant attention, defibrillation if diagnosed and treated, the outcome would have probably been the same.

Defibrillation looks good on TV but the facts are that in an acute heart attack, the results of "shocking " the patient is less than 10 % in total., better in A&E but much worse in "outside surroundings.

[Peter Pedant]

well thx for your input sqad !

[ sorry - little in-joke that I enjoy anyway ]

as ever we dont know all the facts

this paper
https://www.resus.org.uk/pages/OHCA_consensus_paper.pdf
confirms that in out-of-hospital-arrest in 28 000 cases
the survival rate was 8.6%

[Sqad]

Thanks PP it is nice to know that "some " of my anecdotal evidence can be backed up by the www...;-)

[Pocket_Rocket]

I understand exactly what you mean Sqad. But, regardless of the prognosis, I still don't understand why the sentence is so light. Is that the way for Paramedics to go then?. Just talk to someone lying on the ground, form their own diagnosis, and then just walk away?

[Sqad]

P_R

No you are correct, as i mentioned in my post above:

\\\\\However poor PR from the Ambulance service.\\\

the PR didn't mean you.

[Pocket_Rocket]

Still doesn't explain why the sentence is so light - eight months in prison, suspended for 2 years.

[anneasquith]

this gentleman was outside a hospital , as the paramedic obviously had no intention of treating the man, did no one think of alerting hospital staff, re cardiac arrest, if you are going to have one, your best chance of survival is inside a hospital , or even ' just outside'' no one will know if this gentleman could have been resuscitated successfully, as he was never given the chance,,,,,,

[Peter Pedant]

eight months because they cant be sure he did anything

( it is not shown that his lack of action caused the death leaving the side of the very thorny question of do bystanders HAVE TO intervene.

they do in French law under the Code penal - assistance a personne en danger - but there is no counter part in English law

[Pocket_Rocket]

Thanks PP.
Maybe I'm not putting my point across very well.
For example, you say "eight months because they cant be sure he did anything". But they CAN be sure he did NOTHING.

And "it is not shown that his lack of action caused the death". That is irrelevant to the point I'm trying to illustrate. The fact is the paramedic was criminal in his dereliction of duty, which must have seriously impacted any chance of survival.