Ambulance Worker Fired After Flinging Amputee from Wheelchair

Published: 10 October 2025 | The English Chronicle Desk | The English Chronicle Online

An ambulance care assistant has been dismissed after accidentally throwing an amputee patient out of a wheelchair and then attempting to bribe him with £20 to remain silent about the incident. The shocking case, which unfolded at an employment tribunal in Watford, has drawn attention to serious breaches of professional conduct and patient safety within non-emergency ambulance services.

The tribunal heard that John La, who had been working as an ambulance care assistant since 2005, was responsible for transporting a dialysis patient with an amputated leg on 21 June 2024. The incident took place outside Hammersmith Hospital, where La was attempting to move the patient, who was asleep at the time, down from a pavement.

Tribunal records revealed that the manoeuvre should have been performed backwards, in accordance with manual handling safety procedures. However, La attempted it forward, resulting in the patient being thrown from the wheelchair onto the ground. The fall caused the man to sustain serious injuries, including heavy bleeding from his amputated limb and suspected fractures to his fingers.

Rather than seeking medical attention for the patient, La chose to take him home. During the journey, he reportedly told the injured man not to report the incident, expressing concern that he could lose his job. To further dissuade the patient, La handed him £20 in cash, which the tribunal later described as an attempt to bribe the patient into silence.

Following the incident, La’s employer, Community Ambulance Service Ltd, launched an internal investigation. The investigation concluded that La had committed gross misconduct, citing multiple breaches of company policy, including unsafe manual handling, failure to report a workplace incident, and conduct likely to bring the company into disrepute.

During the tribunal hearing, La argued that the investigation had been unfairly handled and that dismissal was too severe a penalty for what he claimed was an accident. He also insisted that his intention was not to bribe the patient but to offer compensation for distress caused by the fall.

However, Employment Judge Emma Heather rejected La’s claims, ruling that the company’s decision to terminate his employment was reasonable and justified given the seriousness of the misconduct. “I am satisfied that Community Ambulance Service Ltd acted reasonably in treating Mr La’s conduct as a sufficient reason for dismissal,” she stated in her judgment.

Judge Heather acknowledged that manual handling failures could, in some cases, be addressed through retraining. However, she emphasised that this incident involved a combination of failures, including La’s decision not to report the event immediately and his attempt to influence the patient’s response. “The decision to dismiss was made based on the misconduct as a whole, which flowed from the incident,” she added.

The tribunal also noted that La had recently undergone several training courses, including manual handling and first aid, and therefore should have been fully aware of the correct procedures for moving patients safely. The fact that he failed his first aid course the first time before eventually passing it was also mentioned during the hearing.

The case has raised broader concerns about the standards of training and supervision in private and community ambulance services. While such organisations play an essential role in transporting vulnerable patients, they have been under scrutiny in recent years for inconsistent safety practices and insufficient oversight compared to NHS ambulance trusts.

Patient safety experts have suggested that this case highlights the need for stronger regulations and more frequent assessments of private ambulance workers. “Even in non-emergency transport, patients deserve the highest standard of care and handling,” said one healthcare governance specialist. “What happened here shows a breakdown in professional judgment and ethics.”

The tribunal ruling is expected to reinforce existing policies that require immediate incident reporting within healthcare organisations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) mandates that any injury sustained by a patient under care must be formally documented and reviewed to prevent recurrence.

Meanwhile, Community Ambulance Service Ltd has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining high standards of patient care. In a statement following the verdict, a company spokesperson said, “We take incidents like this extremely seriously. Patient safety and dignity are at the heart of everything we do. Our staff are trained to the highest possible standard, and we will continue to ensure that such lapses do not occur in the future.”

La’s dismissal, while described as “unfortunate” by some colleagues, has been widely viewed as a necessary step to uphold accountability. The tribunal’s decision has been welcomed by patient rights advocates, who argue that maintaining public trust in healthcare services depends on swift and firm responses to misconduct.

The injured patient, whose identity has not been disclosed, is reportedly recovering and has not taken any legal action beyond cooperating with the tribunal process.

This case serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of adherence to safety procedures and ethical standards in patient care — particularly among those entrusted with assisting society’s most vulnerable individuals.