Ambulance crews warned after paramedic’s death

AMBULANCE crew members have been banned from using a side door on the emergency vehicles until it can be clarified how a paramedic fell to his death earlier this month.

A leaked memo, seen by the Irish Examiner, has told paramedics and other HSE staff to stop “routinely” using the entrance due to concerns over its safety.

An investigation involving the HSE, Health and Safety Authority (HSA), and the gardaí, is currently examining how paramedic and father-of-six, Simon Sexton, lost his life while working in an ambulance in the north east at the start of June.

It is understood the 43-year-old fell out of the side door of the moving vehicle while treating a member of the public on the N3 in Stradone, Co Cavan, while on a patient transfer callout.

The incident is similar to an accident three years ago in Co Kerry, when a paramedic sustained serious head injuries and was out of work for a year after falling from an ambulance. It is unclear what safety measures the HSE introduced following the 2007 accident.

However, the HSE has now ordered all ambulance crew members to stop using the patient compartment side door on vehicles as part of interim safety measures over the next six months.

“The side door must never be opened or its mechanisms operated unless the vehicle is stationary,” the memo outlining new standard operating procedure safety measures explained.

“Until further notice the patient compartment side door should be considered only as an emergency exit and should not routinely be used. Limiting the use of the door is directed towards ensuring that it is securely closed during travel and is not utilised again, except in case of emergency.”

The safety measures also stated that it is now the responsibility of paramedics on board the vehicles to adhere to the guidelines.

SIPTU health sector organiser, Paul Bell, rejected claims from a number of paramedics that the memo effectively means management are moving responsibility from those who purchased the vehicles to those who could be put at risk.

However, he has questioned the need to put “interim” measures in place for six months when it was expected that preliminary conclusions on how the tragedy occurred would be available within weeks. “It is a very deep issue for us that something like this can lead to a fatality… We would be very concerned if there are no conclusions for six months.

“The same issues were involved in what happened in Kerry and we need to know if we’ve learned anything from that and, if so, what have we learned.”