NHS: Welsh paramedic struck off after telling intoxicated patient "I will break your f****** arm"

A paramedic has been struck off after holding down a patient and telling them “I will break your f****** arm”.

A conduct hearing was told of how William Munro, working for Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust at the time, used “unnecessary physical force” on a call to an intoxicated patient. The incident was escalated to the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS), during which time Munro was suspended.

Now, the tribunal service has decided to strike Munro, now 68, off the register of working paramedics.

The tribunal heard how Munro and another paramedic were the second crew to attend for an intoxicated patient in January 2019. It was alleged that he pinned the patient’s arms, touched or held their face and said “do that again and I will break your f****** arm” or words to that effect. The incident was not reported on the patient’s clinical record either.

In a final review hearing last month, the committee concluded that Munro put the patient “at serious risk of harm” and voiced concerns that this type of incident could be repeated. Munro has since moved to Australia and described himself as retired.

A report from the committee read: “[Munro] failed to treat the patient with dignity and respect, and put them at serious risk of harm, which is entirely unacceptable. The gravity of the incident is indicated by the impact that it had on colleagues, both of whom were shocked by Munro’s behaviour.

“Informed members of the public would be particularly concerned by the use of unnecessary physical force and by his language. The panel decided that a finding of current impairment is therefore required in relation to the ‘public’ component of impairment.

“The panel therefore concluded that Munro’s fitness to practise is currently impaired. He has in the past put a patient at unwarranted risk of harm and is liable to do so in the future, and he has in the past and is liable in the future to bring the profession into disrepute.”

In a statement to the committee panel, Munro said: “I reacted badly and allowed my feelings to get the better of me. I was in the wrong. My language was improper, my manner brusque at best, and I was over assertive with the patient and in my use of equipment. I was also clearly unhappy at the conduct of the crew that my colleague and I were sent to assist.

“I mean no defiance or denial however, when I state that I also do, and always have done, dispute the extent of my wrongdoing. I believe that my actions at the event were wrong but not as blameworthy as has been proposed.”