A paramedic has been struck off the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Register for allowing an ambulance to run out of fuel whilst working for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust.

A panel of the HCPC Conduct and Competence Committee heard that David Hope did not take action when the trainee paramedic he was supervising told him that the ambulance had only one-quarter of a tank of fuel. As a result, the ambulance stopped on the way to an emergency call, causing a delay of 20 minutes whilst another ambulance responded.

The Panel further heard that David Hope then asked a vehicle technician to say that the ambulance had stopped because the fuel was dirty, not that it had run out.

Panel Chair Nicola Bastin commented: "The Panel finds by the very nature of his misconduct that the registrant was impaired at the time as he acted dishonestly and failed to properly supervise a junior colleague. His actions caused a delay in a patient being treated and therefore had the potential to cause patient harm. At the time he had served 34 years as a paramedic and should have been fully aware of what was required of him.

"Given the particular nature of the Registrant's misconduct, especially the dishonesty found, the need to uphold proper professional standards and maintain public confidence in the profession would be seriously undermined if a finding of impairment were not made."

(CD)