Coroner condemns paramedics who felt that it was not safe for them to rescue a dying man (big whoop).
The UK is screwed.
The paramedics will probably get promoted.
Here's what the Ambulance Trust had to say:
"South Western Ambulance Trust said:
'Given the extremely difficult conditions in which this incident
occurred, the paramedics would have been unable to administer any higher
standard of care or life support to the patient on an upturned vehicle,
in the middle of the water, than that which was already being performed
by the individual on scene and then by the police officer."
"The
clinical preference would always have been to wait for the fire service
to rescue the patient from the water, and for the paramedics to then
perform, effective, advanced life support once the patient had been
safely recovered."
"The
trust is confident the crew made an appropriate risk assessment on
arrival at the scene and administered the best possible care in what
were particularly difficult circumstances. As
in this case, paramedics often have to make critical decisions in the
most challenging of circumstances in order to maximise the chances of
survival for patients."
"There is no question that during this incident the paramedic made exactly the right choices and performed admirably."
