By Staff Reporter

Last updated at 12:12, Thursday, 25 September 2008

A paramedic has been accused of breaking a string of rules on critical care while treating an injured cyclist, who later died, so that she could get to a concert.

Claire Lomas is alleged to have performed an “unauthorised early crew change” after responding to an accident in Keswick.

She is expected to answer the allegations against her during a Health Professions Council (HPC) disciplinary hearing in London next week.

There, it will be claimed, she arranged an early crew change on September 9, 2006 so she could go to a concert.

HPC documents state Miss Lomas and a trainee technician were called out to an accident, involving a 60-year-old man who had falled off a bike, at about 6.40pm.

It is alleged that she, together with members of the public, transferred the patient to a vacuum mattress – something which was against spinal immobilisation procedures.

Miss Lomas is further accused of failing to accurately assess the seriousness of the patient’s condition, failing to realise his airway was compromised and failing to ascertain the patient’s level of consciousness.

Miss Lomas is also said to have compromised patient care by allowing the trainee technician to attend to the patient while she drove the ambulance, failing to adequately supervise the trainee technician and failing to ensure accurate and complete clinical notes were recorded.

Finally, it has been claimed that while en route to hospital, Miss Lomas pulled into Keswick Ambulance Station to “effect her pre-arranged early crew change when the crew change arranged was not authorised by the appropriate supervisor”.

This, the HPC panel will be told, failed to ensure that tasks she gave to the trainee technician were properly carried out.

The cyclist, who has not been named, died the following day.

Miss Lomas is said to have worked for the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust until she was dismissed in November 2006.

First published at 11:47, Thursday, 25 September 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk