A PARAMEDIC who diverted an ambulance to a depot instead of taking a dying man to hospital has resigned, it was announced yesterday.

Ali Asghar, 69, a father-of-four from Stockton, died of a suspected heart attack shortly after arriving at the accident and emergency department at North Tees Hospital, Stockton, on May 18.

He had been a passenger in a North-East Ambulance Service (NEAS) ambulance which stopped at the station in Stockton while taking the critically ill stroke victim to hospital.

It is alleged that the driver had complained to his colleague that he was 15 minutes past the end of his shift and wanted to clock off.

He is believed to have diverted to the station and left without telling his replacement that there was a critically ill patient being cared for in the back of the vehicle.

Following publicity in a national newspaper, the workers were suspended and an internal investigation was launched.

NEAS last night described the incident as “a shocking breach”

of procedures and said the investigation had recommended that the staff involved should face disciplinary action.

An NEAS spokesman said the investigation had recommended that both members of staff, a paramedic, aged 54, and an advanced technician, aged 53, be dealt with under the trust’s disciplinary process.

The paramedic, who resigned from the service before the disciplinary hearing, has been referred to the Health Professional Council – the governing body for paramedics – who may hold their own inquiry.

The advanced technician, who was treating the patient in the back of the ambulance during the incident, has already been disciplined and is going through a retraining programme before returning to work.

Paul Liversidge, director of ambulance operations, said: “We are sorry that this incident occurred and would like to reassure people that the behaviour of the crew involved fell far short of the high standards we expect of our staff in treating patients. It showed a huge lack of concern for patient care and was a shocking breach of our protocols and procedures regarding the care of patients and their transport to hospital.”

At the time of the incident, the family of the dead man expressed their anger at his treatment.

His son, Mohammed Asghar, 33, said: “The driver should not get away with it. The time he took to detour could have saved my father’s life.”