Paramedics 'tampered with trackers' to avoid 999 calls at a scandal-hit NHS trust

Paramedics at a scandal-hit NHS trust are accused of switching off ambulance tracking devices so they could avoid responding to 999 calls.

At least ten ambulance workers are under investigation for deliberate tampering with the trackers, so they could disappear for up to three hours at a time, putting patients at risk.

The revelations came as the current head of South East Coast Ambulance Service trust stood down in the wake of allegations that he was among those found responsible for bullying.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HPC) yesterday heard that patients in potentially life-threatening situations were left in jeopardy because of efforts to mislead control room staff.

Andew Patterson

At least 10 paramedics from the trust’s ambulance station in Guildford, Surrey, are accused of deliberate tampering.

Carl Hudghton, 29, yesterday admitted that his actions could have had “catastrophic” consequences for patients, adding to delays for patients in need of emergency help.

He said he had switched off the tracker because he had a stomach ache and thought he might not be allowed a break.

A dispatch team leader from the trust said the case was the one in a “long line of incidents” in which paramedics had tampered with the devices.

Clinical operation manager Andew Patterson said that around 10 or 11 cases were under investigation.

“There are a number of members of staff who are tampering with MDT [mobile data terminal] devices. It started with one particular employee, and then all the people who worked with that employee were investigated.”

In total, “around 10 or 11 cases” were now under investigation among staff from Guildford Ambulance station, he said.

Last month, another paramedic from the same trust was given an caution order after he was found to have tampered with such equipment on 16 occasions, for up to three hours at a time.

The HPC said the actions of Anthony Garrard risked harm to patients, and constituted “repeated acts of dishonesty over an extended period.”

The paramedic said he had taken the actions so he could get home earlier to his sick partner.

The trust has been at the centre of a string of scandals.

Last week the Telegraph revealed leaked reports which said desperate 999 call handlers attempted suicide amid an “endemic culture of bullying” at the trust’s Coxheath control room.

Separate documents show complaints of bullying by Paul Sutton, then head of the trust, and by Geraint Davies, now acting chief executive, were upheld following an investigation by conflict resolution experts.

Mr Sutton left the trust last May, after the Telegraph exposed that he had personally authorised a secret operation which deliberately delayed responses to 20,000 calls, effectively penalising patients for calling 111.

Last week Mr Davies emailed all staff to say that the the disclosures in the Telegraph covered “a range of historic allegations, which have been investigated and dealt with already.”

He also said he was saddened that the articles followed leaks of information from staff to the media.

Yesterday Mr Davies said he had taken his decision to leave the trust “some weeks ago”.

He said: “As the Trust has now been able to confirm that a new substantive Chief Executive, Daren Mochrie, will be starting with SECAmb on 3 April, I am announcing that I have decided to leave the Trust on 31 March 2017.

“I made this decision some weeks ago and shared this with our Chairman in January but did not want to publicise this until we were able to confirm Daren’s start date.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my 12 years with the Trust and remain committed to the job in hand during the next few weeks but this feels the right time for me to move on to new challenges.”

Mr Sutton has said he he refutes allegations concerning his personal conduct which he said were “wholly unsubstantiated.”