East of England Ambulance Service to pay £49k to former paramedic after wrongful dismissal

The East of England Ambulance Service is paying £49k to paramedic who was wrongfully dismissed after a he was assaulted by a 14-year-old patient.

This comes after an employment tribunal in March when the service was ordered to pay out £49,314.66 to former paramedic, Peter Edwards.

The 60-year-old was dismissed in February 2022 for gross misconduct for physically assaulting a patient after he was called to help an intoxicated 14-year-old while on a night shift on August 18, 2021.

The employment tribunal heard Mr Edwards was hit on the upper lip and nose by the teen and that his ‘instantaneous reflex reaction’ was to ‘protect himself from further blows’.

Mr Edwards was dismissed by the service who said he had ‘abused his position of trust’ but, when he took his appeal to an employment tribunal, the dismissal was found to be wrongful.

The East of England Ambulance Service must now pay a total of £49,314.66 to Mr Edwards.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We respect the outcome of the Employment Tribunal which was not in agreement with our decision to dismiss the now ex-employee.

“We have decided not to appeal the outcome after reflecting on the findings and have identified some lessons to be learned procedurally.

“The safety of our patients is a top priority for the Trust and every allegation against a staff member around professional conduct with patients is investigated thoroughly.”