Paramedic took 'double time' to reach pen choke teenager

13 April 2012

A paramedic took nearly double the time of the closest ambulance to reach a teenager who choked to death on a pen top because the nearest crew was on an unpaid meal break, according to ambulance bosses.

Ben Stirland slipped off his chair at home and swallowed the top from the pen he had been chewing while doing his homework.

A rapid response paramedic took 11 minutes 43 seconds to reach him in Consett, County Durham, because the Consett ambulance crew, who were just six minutes away, were on a meal break, North East Ambulance Service bosses said.

There is no suggestion that Ben, who died in hospital two days after the incident at his home in Castleside on January 9, would have survived if the closest crew had attended.

Under arrangements introduced nationally in June 2005, paramedics are not paid for meal breaks and, as a result, are not called out to emergencies during break times.

Unions and ambulance service managers elsewhere in the country have reached agreements to allow staff to respond during breaks, but discussions in the North East have so far ended in stalemate. Another meeting is planned for January 30.

Simon Featherstone, chief executive of the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), said: "I would firstly like to record our condolences to the family of this young boy, this was a tragic accident.

"If the Consett crew were not on a meal break and had been on duty from their station, we estimate their travelling time to this particular location as approximately six minutes."

Mr Featherstone said almost 50 extra staff have been introduced since the new arrangements were put in place two years ago to minimise the impact of unpaid meal breaks.

"We understand the sentiments and frustrations expressed towards the meal break situation, although A&E staff will state that they really value the guaranteed uninterrupted period during a busy shift," he said.

"But meal breaks are not part of the paid working day for NHS staff and this has been a difficult issue for us in the ambulance service.

"It is a great shame we have not been able to reach an agreement."

He said NEAS made two offers, including paying crews an extra £1,500 per year, more than a year ago to Unison, the largest union representing ambulance workers in the North East, but both were rejected.

"Patient care has always been and remains our top priority," he said.

Mr Featherstone added that an interim measure, where crews were contacted and asked if they would respond during their meal break if alerted by the control room, was also rejected.

"We cannot offer what the union has asked for as it this would breach the national agreement and set an unacceptable precedent for 1.3 million staff across the UK."

Joel Byers, of Unison, said: "I think it's ridiculous that an emergency service does not have a 24-hour cover.

"It doesn't matter how many extra staff the trust employs, there's no guarantee that they will be the closest to an incident.

"Our sympathies are with the family of this boy. Now I don't know whether it would have made a difference or not, but we should be available - the police are, and the fire service are."

He said he wanted to reach an interim deal with the trust before a national agreement was put in place.

"If a call comes in one minute before the end of a 12-hour shift, we don't argue, we get out and serve, even if we know it could take us two hours. Because that's what we do, we serve the public."

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