Powys paramedic threatened to break woman’s arm

William Munro, who lived in Machynlleth at the time of the incident was struck off after it found he “used unnecessary physical force” towards a patient.

In the incident which took place on January 6, 2019, Munro was accused of holding down a patient's arm, touched or held her face before telling her “do that again and I will break your f*****g arm” or “words to that effect”.

It also found he did not use an appropriate technique when transferring the patient from the floor to the wheelchair.

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The patient was found to be a woman who “was reported to have attempted to end her life by consuming alcohol and medication” and had been “intoxicated and verbally abusive”.

Munro made no admissions to the panel but accepted that he was “out of order”.

“I reacted badly and allowed my feelings to get the better of me,” Munro said. “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”.

The Healthcare Professional Tribunal Service said in their findings that “although the Registrant’s misconduct was a single incident which occurred in a very short space of time, it involved multiple breaches of the Standards of Proficiency for Paramedics and the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance, and Ethics.

“The registrant failed to treat the patient with dignity and respect, and put the patient at serious risk of harm, which is entirely unacceptable.

“The gravity of the incident is indicated by the impact that it had on Colleagues A and B, both of whom were shocked by the Registrant’s behaviour.

"Informed members of the public would be particularly concerned by the Registrant’s use of unnecessary physical force and by his language.”

Munro had been reprimanded before for failing to answer 999 calls when he worked in Scotland.

In the previous disciplinary Munro was accused of refusing to help an 82-year-old woman who was experiencing breathing difficulty and a 70-year-old man with chest pains and had argued with an operator and accusing her of “shafting him”.

Munro said that this had been due to the stress of the job after being chased by a patient carrying a Samurai sword and confronted by another wielding a knife on two earlier occasions.

Munro has since moved from the area and is now living in Australia.