A man in his late 80s who ran 10km a week had to have his leg amputated after an ambulance failed to take him to hospital.
Photo: 123RF
The details have come to light through a Health and Disability Commissioner decision released today.
In October 2019, the man had been working under a van for a few hours when his left leg became painful and numb.
He rang for an ambulance and, after a clinical assessment on the phone, a paramedic and an emergency medical technician arrived at the scene.
The duo assessed the man's leg but did not remove his sock. They decided not to transfer him to hospital.
The next day, the man awoke with severe pain and a blue foot, and was admitted to hospital. He required two amputations to his leg.
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Kevin Allan said the paramedic's assessment of the man was incomplete and there were problems with the relationship between the two staff.
"I concur, and note that the ambulance service acknowledged that the clinical decision-making in this incident was adversely affected because of challenges in the inter-professional relationship of the personnel who attended," he wrote.
He also said the paramedic's documentation fell below accepted standards and did not follow the ambulance service's guidelines.
The paramedic has since retired, and provided the man with a written apology.
Allan recommended that should the paramedic return to work, he should arrange for more training on clinical procedures and guidelines, challenging assumptions, and managing inter-professional relationships.
He said the ambulance service needed to provide the commissioner with evidence of training to its staff on conflict and communication breakdowns.
The ambulance service was not named in the report, citing privacy.
