Paramedic laughed about patient 'moaning in pain'

Former paramedic Jacob Bailey admitted he had "fallen short" of the expectations of a paramedic

A paramedic who laughed about a patient "moaning in pain", made derogatory comments about others and took his hands off the wheel while driving an ambulance has been struck-off.

Jacob Bailey was working for the East of England Ambulance Service when he disclosed confidential information about patients in a Facebook group chat between November 2021 and January 2022.

During his employment in the mid and south Essex sector of the service he also posted images of himself wearing a paramedic uniform and swearing at the camera in the messenger group.

He was dismissed by the ambulance service in August 2022 and has now been removed from the register following an investigation by the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service.

Jacob Bailey was suspended and then dismissed by the East of England Ambulance Service

The tribunal heard a total of 59,615 posts, comments, reactions and other actions were made in the group chat, with 2,840 being attributed to Bailey.

Some of them included pictures showing patients' addresses and defibrillator monitors displaying patients' vital observations, including ECGs.

Bailey, who once admitted "falling asleep" on a patient's sofa, also made rude comments about patients who were in his care.

On one occasion, he sent a message saying he was with a patient who would not "stop moaning in pain", followed by a swear word and two laughing emojis.

While attending another call-out, he said his patient was "too old but the f***** didn't have DNAR" – meaning he would have been obliged to try to resuscitate them.

He also referred to one female patient as a "wet wipe" and commented that another would have been "easier to manage" had she had a cardiac arrest.

And while at a patient's home in Harwich, he sent a message saying there were cat faeces on the floor, it smelt of cannabis and there was pornography on the television.

'Deeply ashamed'

Bailey used derogatory comments and sexual and expletive language while talking about his colleagues, and told one they should "catheterise" themselves.

Investigators ruled some of his comments were "racist and/or abusive".

The former medic was filmed removing his hands from the wheel for three seconds while driving an ambulance. It is unknown if a patient was in the ambulance at the time.

Bailey admitted "the substance" of the allegations and issued an apology, stating he was "deeply ashamed" of his behaviour.

He also acknowledged he had fallen "short, not only of the expectations of paramedic but also of a human being".

Bailey's fitness to practise was deemed to be impaired and he was voluntarily removed from the register.