A paramedic who mocked patients for calling 999 in Facebook posts has been suspended.
Former medic Samuel Heenan made a number of social media posts criticising some of his 999 call outs, including one patient who he'd posted called over 'chest pains' after playing a Nintendo Wii, and another who 'could not decide if [they] are having a seizure or eating a sandwich'.
He made fun of another who had dialled 999 after suffering from three weeks of 'smelly poos'.
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The results were heard at a disciplinary tribunal held for the South East Coast ambulance service paramedic, who started the job in 2014 before quitting in 2019.
Heenan for his part, thought the posts were 'humorous' and 'would raise morale' among his colleagues.
However, the panel disagreed, finding his behaviour 'deplorable' and suspending him from practising for a year.
Bosses were first made aware of Heenan's social media posts two years after he started, with the subsequent investigation unearthing 14 posts considered inappropriate.
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In one post, Heenan wrote: "Firstly: a paper cut on your neck does not count as a stab.
"Secondly: a paper cut on the neck does not justify an emergency ambulance.
"Thirdly: How do you even get a paper cut on your neck?!"
Elsewhere he wrote: "People ask me what I have achieved at work today so I inform them that I have been enforcing traffic law, scaring people driving using their phone and writing fake speeding tickets.
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"All in a day's work for an undercover paramedic."
Heenan had also been investigated in November 2018 after student paramedic Melissa Wale complained about his behaviour during shifts, the panel heard.
Ms Wale said that he had made comments about 'scroats', called a patient a 'pansy' and said the job was a 'pile of crap'.
Heenan also called the 111 NHS call staff a 'bunch of monkeys' to a child's mother.
He also told a colleague that 'we should leave our lights and sirens on outside the house to embarrass the patients' and called a patient a compulsive liar.
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The panel stated: "The remainder of the allegation found proved is conduct that falls far short of what would have been proper in the circumstances and concluded that it amounts to misconduct.
"[Mr Heenan] breached patient confidentiality, which encompasses the fundamental professional tenets of trust and integrity.
"In addition, his comments and conduct when working with Ms Wale, particularly bearing in mind his role as her mentor, as well as his repeated Facebook posts were deeply inappropriate, disrespectful and unprofessional.
"Mr Heenan's conduct would be considered deplorable and is conduct which the panel found amounted to misconduct."
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