An ‘aggressive’ paramedic who told a stroke patient that ‘Jesus and Jehovah are not coming to help you’ while responding to a 999 call has been struck off.
Rachel Lemonofides also told the patient, who was later diagnosed with a brain bleed and abdominal aortic aneurysm, to stop acting ‘like a baby’ and forced her to crawl down the stairs.
Lemonofides was dismissed by North West Ambulance Service in July 2024 after being accused of making dozens of allegedly ‘discriminatory’ or ‘racially motivated’ comments about or to the woman in January the same year.
A tribunal has now ruled that the British Army reservist, who holds the rank of staff sergeant, made up to 31 comments of this nature against the patient.
On January 11, 2024 an ambulance was called to the patient’s address when she began feeling a ‘sharp pain in her chest’ as she got ready for work.
Ms Lemonofides’s crew responded to the call and they spent a total of 104 minutes at the scene before bringing the patient to hospital.
The patient had described the pain as ‘severe and excruciating’ and she was later ‘informed that her aorta had burst and she had a blood clot in the brain which had caused her to suffer a stroke’.
She was ‘given a 50 per cent chance of surviving an aortic dissection’ (emergency heart surgery).
A nurse in the emergency department explained that the patient was having a cerebral bleed and later on, that she was also having an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Rachel Lemonofides was struck off as a paramedic at North West Ambulance Service. She is also a British soldier with the rank of staff sergeant
Ms Lemonofides accused the stroke patient of ‘absolutely ridiculous behaviour’ and refused to help her walk down the stairs after responding to the 999 call
However, while responding to the emergency call, Ms Lemonofides had allegedly made a series of discriminatory or racially motivated comments either to or about the patient in which the paramedic accused her of ‘ridiculous behaviour’.
Ms Lemonofides’s remarks included telling the patient: ‘Jesus and Jehovah are not coming to help you’; ‘You are acting ridiculous now’; ‘This is like a child now’; ‘You are stuck on the floor like a child’; ‘This is a bit like silly behaviour now’; ‘We are not helping you like this, you are being silly’; and ‘I am really mad now because people are waiting for this ambulance and you are acting like a child.’
The paramedic also accused the patient of ‘absolutely ridiculous behaviour’ and of acting ‘as though you have had your leg ripped off’.
She also refused to help the patient walk down the stairs at her home, forcing the stroke sufferer to crawl instead.
Ms Lemonofides said the woman was ‘behaving as if you are possessed’ and told her: ‘I should let your employer know how you are behaving given the fact that you work with vulnerable people.’
On several occasions it was noted that Ms Lemonofides had shouted at the woman in between making some of these comments, including when she told her to ‘act your age’.
The paramedic also said: ‘You are not dying, you have got a bad back’; ‘You should be assessed by the mental health team’; ‘You are lying, stop what you are doing, stop being a baby, let’s go downstairs.’
She accused the woman of ‘wasting time and making a scene’ and then told her ‘I’m not going to help you’ when she asked for ‘help to stand up and/or descending the stairs’.
Ms Lemonofides also threatened to make the patient’s workplace aware of the incident, saying: ‘Stop being a baby, many people need this ambulance, we will tell your employer that you are being funny.’
The paramedic later said the patient was ‘just being dramatic’, telling her: ‘You have gone through child labour which is worse than this pain.’
In remarks that appear to have been made to a colleague during the incident, Ms Lemonofides also said: ‘I do not think this is medical, she is choosing to do this’; ‘This is like the worst behaviour I have seen for a very long time’; ‘Does she believe in black magic or anything like that?’; and ‘I can’t believe someone with a child is behaving like this’.
The paramedic’s final comments included telling the patient that ‘we can’t take you to the hospital because your condition is not that serious’ and ‘you have 60 seconds to get up or we are leaving’.
The tribunal ruled that the list of 31 alleged comments made by Ms Lemonofides during the incident, some of which the Daily Mail has revealed here, were ‘proved on the balance of probabilities’.
It was ruled that her ‘dismissive and aggressive comments and behaviour continued throughout her attendance at the address’.
Ms Lemonofides admitted that she made these comments but had denied in July 2025 that her remarks were discriminatory on the grounds of ethnicity.
However, the tribunal also found that these comments were, as alleged, ‘discriminatory on the grounds of ethnicity; and/or racially motivated; and/or unprofessional, in that it breached professional boundaries’ with the patient.
This promotional image identifying Ms Lemonofides as a reserve soldier was posted by North West Ambulance Service on social media
The tribunal found that four witnesses, who included colleagues and the patient’s housemates, were ‘shocked’ at hearing the paramedic’s remarks about the patient being ‘possessed’ and whether she used ‘black magic’.
‘The panel considered the audio recordings from the incident, noting the registrant [Ms Lemonofides]’s tone when making the comments about and being to Patient A,’ the tribunal ruled.
‘In addition, the panel noted from the recordings that, when Patient A was calling out in her native language, the registrant is heard to make comments such as “stop with this nonsense”, which could have been in response to Patient A speaking in her native language and therefore suggests hostility towards Patient A’s ethnicity…
‘Colleague A confirmed [that] two other calls [on the same day] involved white female patients and neither of these patients were treated by the registrant in the same way she had treated Patient A.’
The panel ruled on the balance of probabilities that ‘it was more likely than not that the registrant’s conduct towards Patient A was discriminatory on the grounds of ethnicity’.
Ms Lemonofides denied her conduct was racially motivated on the day of the incident. However she was not present for the tribunal hearing.
The tribunal found that the Army reservist’s comments about ‘black magic’ and the patient being ‘possessed’ were ‘said for a purpose’, which was to ‘make reference to Patient A’s race’.
‘The panel considered if the act was done in a way showing hostility or a discriminatory attitude to the relevant racial group and agreed that it was.’
It was ruled that Ms Lemonofides ‘appeared to have a bias towards the ethnicity’ of the woman.
After finding that the paramedic’s comments amounted to racially motivated discrimination, it was further ruled that her conduct ‘was an example of gross unprofessionalism and a breach of professional boundaries’ and the allegation was found proven.
‘The panel acknowledged that some patients require a more assertive manner for different reasons, but having considered the evidence in this case, the tone and manner of the registrant’s comments, together with her treatment of Patient A, the panel agreed that her conduct was abhorrent,’ it was ruled.
‘It noted the distinct lack of dignity and respect for Patient A, with no evidence of empathy or compassion from the registrant and unacceptable treatment continued over a period of time.’
As part of the tribunal, Ms Lemonofides also faced allegations that she told a colleague in reference to the incident: ‘If it had been filmed, you would watch it back and laugh at it.’
The panel found the paramedic guilty of having made this remark on the balance of probabilities.
Ms Lemonofides was also accused of failing to recognise the seriousness of the patient’s condition.
The tribunal found this allegation proved on the balance of probabilities after the patient described ‘having to crawl downstairs as she was unable to walk and was not assisted in doing so’.
Ms Lemonofides was accused of ‘refusing’ to help the patient walk despite having ‘pain to her back, throat and neck’.
One of the patient’s housemates told the tribunal that they saw the woman reach out to Ms Lemonofides with her hand and ask for help, but the paramedic ‘physically moved away’ and ‘refused to help her’.
The panel noted: ‘It was clear to the panel from the recordings that Patient A was crying out in apparent pain on numerous occasions, but the registrant was heard telling her to.’
A spokesman for North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust told the Daily Mail: ‘The individual no longer works for the trust.
‘All of our patients are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect and there is no place within our organisation for colleagues who do not uphold those values.’
An Army spokesman said: ‘We have a common law and Data Protection Act duty to protect the personal information of our employees or ex-employees, as such we will not release any personal information relating to this case.’
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