Paramedic struck off register after series of ‘unforgivable’ remarks while attending miscarriage

Lucy Bambridge was working for East of England Ambulance Service

A paramedic who laughed and joked while attending to a woman having a miscarriage has been struck off the medical register for making a series of inappropriate comments.

Lucy Bambridge was found to have made a string of inappropriate comments when she and a colleague were called to the woman’s home on November 28, 2017.

The patient, who was not named during the disciplinary hearing, was under the care of the Rosy Maternity Unit of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where a scan showed her baby had died.

She was sent home to return 48 hours later to deliver. But she rang 999 after suffering contractions and bleeding.

The dead baby was then delivered while Ms Bambridge and a colleague were in her home.

A Health and Care Professionals Service Tribunal hearing was told Ms Bambridge, who was working for East of England Ambulance Service, at one point said: “I don’t know what to do.”

The patient told the tribunal: “I can’t begin to tell you how terrifying it is to hear that in a situation like this.

“There was a bit of confusion with the clothes I was wearing. They helped me out of them. Obviously we had to be careful of our baby and I was trying not to look or let it fall.

“During my distress at this I was horrifically asked if we had anything to put our baby in? ‘A Tupperware box or something in your kitchen?’ We were speechless.

“They giggled nervously. Regardless of how awkward this situation was for them – this was by no means a time to laugh.

“In trying to disperse the awkward atmosphere, one girl knelt forward to me and said, ‘At least its not poo! We are bored of poo! And anyway, red is festive’.”

Ms Bambridge’s colleague, an emergency medical technician, said: “It appeared to me that this comment was made in relation to the festivities of Christmas as it was November.”

The patient also complained about her treatment when the umbilical cord, which was still attached to the baby, was cut.

She said: “The time had now come to cut the dreaded cord. A very significant part of any normal labour and normally celebrated.

“You can imagine my surprise and shock when the pair of scissors was waved in celebration with a big grin in the direction of my husband, implying that he could do it for them. I just looked up at her and said, ‘you must be joking’.

“They went to cut the cord. The girl holding the scissors said to me, ‘Let’s get this cut. You don’t want all of this hanging out of you do you?’ Another unforgivable remark.”

Ms Bambridge resigned in December 2017 and now lives in Australia.

Speaking to the panel in a statement, she said: “I feel deeply saddened that the patient feels this way regarding this incident, at the time I did the best I could with the limited training I had received from the trust.

“I had no intention of ever making anyone feel uncomfortable or unduly distressed. I have always maintained a high standard of professionalism required of me.”

The panel decided she should be struck off the register.

Additional reporting by Press Association