Greater Manchester paramedic slams patient who pretended to be paralysed to get a free lift
The paramedic took to Twitter to shame the man involved.
Last updated 22nd Feb 2018
A paramedic for the North West Ambulance service has hit out on Twitter after taking a patient to hospital, only to find he'd faked an illness to get a free lift.
The prankster dialed 999 last night feigning a loss of feeling in his legs and pretending to be paralysed.
It was only when the ambulance pulled up at A&E that the 'patient' walked away and freely admitted that he had faked the whole thing to he wanted a lift to visit his friend who was being treated there.
Paramedic Shaun Gerrard, from Manchester, was in the ambulance with him - he uploaded an angry Twitter post after the incident...
Senior Paramedic Danny Law is based at the Central Manchester Ambulance Station: "This is awful. It's a blatant abuse of the service and this man didn't even try to hide what he'd done.
"It's a waste of time when the ambulance is taken off the road to deal with an incident like this at a time when it could be responding to someone in a genuine life threatening condition.
"These resources are so valuable and our resources are stretched as it is - so this further strains our services. The bottom line is that it takes the service away from other people who really need us.
"We're very, very busy and we urge people to make the right call. Abuse of the ambulance service will not be tolerated.
"Only ring 999 when someone is seriously ill or injured. Please make use of the NHS 111 line or GPs and pharmacies when it's not a serious problem."