Ambulance staff must not be placed in ‘impossible position’

The plight of an ambulance driver facing prosecution for doing 104 mph while transporting vital organs for transplant has attracted support from unions and the Shadow Health Secretary Dr Liam Fox.

West Yorkshire ambulance driver Mike Ferguson has been charged by Crown prosecutors for speeding when he rushed a liver destined for an emergency transplant operation at high speed from Leeds to Cambridge. It is understood that as the law stands currently a vehicle carrying organs for transplant does not qualify as an ambulance under the legal definition.

Dr Fox said: “For thousands of patients and their families awaiting organs for transplantation, this case is enormously important.

“The onus is always on ambulance staff to drive safely under all circumstances. But it is unacceptable that lack of clarity in the law can leave them vulnerable when carrying out their vital work.

“It is essential that, whatever the outcome of this case, the law is clarified, so that ambulance and other professional staff are given the full protection they need to carry out their duties for the benefit of patients.”

Mr Ferguson has stated that he would do the same again, but that the police evidently had a differing opinion.

Both the West Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the GMB union are supporting 36-year-old Senior Ambulance Driver Mike Ferguson, who has a clear driving record, in the case.

He faces losing his driving licence and possibly his job if the case brought by the Crown Prosecution Service after the detection by Lincolnshire Constabulary proceeds.

Officers in Cambridgeshire apparently were prepared to turn a blind eye to the speeding ambulance with its lights flashing on its mercy dash.

However, a spokesperson for the CPS said that the incident did not appear to be a medical emergency and that it was therefore up to a court to rule on the case.

(SP)