Ambulance drivers face the sack if they ignore a ‘ludicrous’ diktat that they must not drive too fast to emergencies. NHS bureaucrats have decided that paramedics who go as little as 10mph above the speed limit should face formal disciplinary action. Repeat ‘offenders’ could be dismissed under rules drawn up by half of the 12 ambulance trusts in England, covering around 25million people. This is despite a police ruling that ambulance drivers caught exceeding the speed limit will be spared prosecution if they are dealing with an emergency. Roger Goss, co-director of Patient Concern, said the orders put lives at risk at a time when the NHS is struggling to cope because of the bad weather. He said: ‘I would have thought you employed ambulance staff who you trusted to drive safely without some diktat from HQ.’ Ambulance drivers say they should be trusted to use their discretion about how fast they can safely travel. A spokesman for the union Unison said: ‘If it was your mother or father who was in an ambulance in an emergency you would want them to get to hospital as quickly as possible. ‘Paramedics should be trusted to use their training and common sense to make the best decisions depending on the road conditions.’ More
(AD Suggests ~ Would the petty bureaucrats who sit in their offices dreaming this up, be happy with the ambulance drivers strictly following the rules, rather than using commonsense, if they were the ones needing emergency medical help?)
Feb 022010
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