NWAS paramedic struck off over comments and care to patient

Rachel Claire Lemonofides, who worked for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), was removed from the register following a Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service hearing.

The tribunal heard she attended a 999 call on January 11, 2024, after a woman developed severe chest, throat, and back pain at home and became unable to move.

Over a period of more than 100 minutes at the property, Lemonofides made a string of remarks towards the patient, including telling her she was “being silly”, “acting like a child” and “not dying”.

The tribunal found she repeatedly failed to recognise the seriousness of the woman’s condition and delayed the decision to take her to hospital.

The patient was later transferred to a specialist heart hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery after suffering an aortic dissection and stroke.

She was placed in a coma for 10 days.

Among the comments found proved by the tribunal were: “You are not dying, you’ve got a bad back”, “Stop being a baby”, “You are wasting time, you are making a scene”, and “You have 60 seconds to get up, or we are leaving”.

Lemonofides was also found to have asked: “Does she believe in black magic or anything like that?” and told the patient she was behaving “as if you are possessed”.

The panel ruled that her behaviour was discriminatory on the grounds of ethnicity and racially motivated.

In its findings, the tribunal said: “The discriminatory behaviour of the registrant towards Patient A was particularly concerning.

“It agreed that the registrant’s discrimination towards Patient A’s ethnic group affected her conduct and demeanour throughout the incident and resulted in her wholly unfair and unacceptable treatment of Patient A at a time when she was vulnerable and in need of urgent care.”

The hearing was told recordings captured only around seven minutes of the incident, but witnesses said the dismissive and aggressive behaviour continued throughout the crew’s attendance.

A colleague who attended the call alongside Lemonofides later submitted an internal safety report and told the tribunal she believed the patient should have been taken to hospital sooner.

The tribunal found the paramedic ignored warning signs, including low blood pressure, chest pain and numbness in the patient’s legs.

In one incident, witnesses said the patient reached out asking for help, but Lemonofides moved away instead of assisting her.

After leaving the address, the tribunal found Lemonofides told her colleague: “If it had been filmed, you would watch it back and laugh at it,” or words to that effect.

The panel described her conduct as “abhorrent”, “deplorable” and an example of “gross unprofessionalism”.

Lemonofides was restricted from duties by NWAS in March 2024 and dismissed following a disciplinary process in July that year.

The tribunal also found she failed to tell the Health and Care Professions Council about the restrictions placed on her practice and her subsequent dismissal.

When considering sanction, the panel said there was “little evidence of insight” and no evidence she had addressed concerns about her conduct or clinical practice.

It concluded that the discriminatory and racially-motivated behaviour was “so serious that they are incompatible with continued registration”.

A striking-off order was imposed.