• Victoria Parker avoided helping an elderly lady who had suffered a fall in Essex
  • Five former colleagues accused her of intimidating and bullying them
  • She was suspended by East of England Ambulance Service and has since resigned
  • Panel found her guilty of misconduct and dishonesty and banned her for five years

By Rob Preece

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A bullying paramedic who let down one of the tyres on her ambulance to dodge an emergency call-out has been struck off.

Victoria Parker admitted she had been a ‘stupid a**e’ for sticking a pen into the tyre to let out air so she could finish her shift on time.

She was guilty of misconduct and dishonesty by avoiding the call to help an elderly lady who had suffered a fall, a Health Professions Council panel ruled.

Accusation: Victoria Parker let out air from an ambulance tyre to avoid attending an emergency call-out, a hearing was told

Accusation: Victoria Parker let out air from an ambulance tyre to avoid attending an emergency call-out, a hearing was told

Parker, who was a paramedic with the East of England Ambulance NHS Trust, was adjudged to have put patients at risk by deliberately putting the ambulance out of service.

Parker, who has since quit the service and moved to Australia, was also found to have bullied and intimidated junior colleagues.

She was banned from practising for at least five years.

Panel chairman Clare Reggiori said: ‘The registrant’s actions on more than one occasion of causing an otherwise sound ambulance to be taken off the road for entirely selfish reasons had the potential to put patients at risk.

‘There was very little evidence that the registrant had shown insight into the possible impact of her conduct on patients who might have suffered as a consequence of the ambulances being off the road.’

Parker, who did not attend the hearing at Whitefield House in London, admitted letting a tyre down 30 minutes before the end of her shift on May 19, 2009, to avoid treating the elderly woman in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex.

Allegation: Parker used a pen to deflate the nearside front tyre of the ambulance, the Health Professional Council heard

Allegation: Parker used a pen to deflate the nearside front tyre of the ambulance, the Health Professions Council heard

During the trust’s internal investigation, she admitted: ‘I untwiddled the valve cap and with my pen I let a little air out of the tyre.

‘I told control we had a slow flat. I didn’t tell anyone about this.

‘I am a stupid a**e.’

Parker had also confessed to repeating the trick on March 10, 2010, during an internal assessment day, but the panel said it could not be sure this was true after hearing ‘vague’ witness evidence.

Parker was responsible for supervising student paramedics at Rayleigh Ambulance Station.

Parker claimed to have got on with paramedics Clair Flynn, Gail Newman, and Samantha Watson, but they gave evidence contradicting this.

They described a ‘clear pattern of sustained intimidation and bullying’ during a deteriorating relationship with Parker.

Ms Reggiori said: ‘The registrant’s actions were serious, deliberate, wilful and reckless. As found by the panel, they were also dishonest.

‘They also involved student paramedics for whom the registrant was responsible while they were in her charge.

No-show: Parker, who has moved to Australia, did not attend the hearing at Whitefield House in London

No-show: Parker, who has moved to Australia, did not attend the hearing at Whitefield House in London

‘She was a person to whom they should be able to look to for guidance on proper professional standards and behaviour.

‘Her conduct in bullying her colleagues demonstrated, in the panel’s view, a deep-seated attitudinal problem about which the registrant appeared to have virtually no insight.

‘We saw at first hand the very profound effect which her conduct still has on those of her colleagues who gave evidence at this hearing.’

Parker has shown little remorse for her actions, the panel ruled.

It also raised concerns about the training of student paramedics at the trust, and ordered for a copy of the ruling to be sent to the chief executive.

An allegation that Parker instructed a student paramedic to falsify paperwork following the tyre incident was not proven, the panel found.

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typical response from todays selfish lazy and uncaring generation . one day she will be old and infirm, and need help from others. you should treat others as you expect to be treated yourself. you shoudn't need telling this.

So has she moved to Australia to do the same or does the ban travel with her .....i bet they deport when they hear about this , and it will serve her right we all want to finish work on time but sometimes in a job like that you just can't .......nasty silly woman

Hope she has not got the same job in Australia now.If she didnt like the job she should have left and looked for another job. Good riddance to her.

This should carry a prison sentence and a permanent ban from the medical profession.

This woman clearly showed psychopathic tendencies; all she thought of was how things affected her, with no thought or empathy for anyone else. Alternatively, she is a total product of the "me" generation, only looking out for her own benefit with no regard to others. "same difference" as my brother would say. Thank goodness we are rid of her, and let's hope that she never returns to this country; she is totally unsuited to a caring profession and was a complete liability to the ambulance service.

A disgrace to her uniform

That's usually promotion material in the UK public sector. The stupid panel must not know the rules.

So she has moved to Australia, well as people from there read this perhaps they would like to find out if the authorities there know about this, however please note; we do not want her back!

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