Struck off paramedic inhaled gas

Richard Sanders inhaled the gas in the back of an ambulance

A paramedic has been struck off for inhaling pain-relieving gas and air in the back of an ambulance while on duty.

Richard Sanders, who works for the Welsh Ambulance Service, was found lying on a stretcher inhaling Entonox, which is given to women in labour.

When colleagues asked what he was doing, Mr Sanders had a staggering walk and slurred speech, a Health Professions Council (HPC) panel heard.

They concluded his fitness to practice was impaired because of the misconduct.

The panel of the HPC conduct and competence committee, sitting in Cardiff, was told that in the evening of 27 March 2006, Mr Sanders started his 12 hour shift.

'Serious breach'

At around midnight during that shift, fellow paramedics discovered him in the back of the ambulance self-administering the gas, which is an analgesic normally used to ease pain during labour, trauma and minor surgical procedures.

Panel chairman Derek Adrian-Harris, said: "This is a very serious breach.

"By rendering himself incapable during shift, Mr Sanders put patient safety at risk".

The panel concluded that Mr Sanders' fitness to practice was impaired as a consequence of this misconduct, and decided to strike him off the HPC register.

Mr Sanders, of Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, did not attend the hearing.

A HPC spokesman said he was struck off the HPC register for administering Entonox to himself, for his own purposes.

A spokeswoman for the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it had dismissed Mr Sanders for misconduct just over a year ago.

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