Paramedic stole £3,000 of medical equipment from NHS and tried to sell it on eBay

A paramedic has been struck disconnected aft helium was recovered blameworthy of stealing an estimated £3,000 worthy of aesculapian instrumentality from the NHS during the pandemic and attempting to merchantability it connected eBay. Rainer Morgan-Kavanaugh, who was described arsenic 'highly qualified', stole items including an oxygen canister and a bosom show from a storeroom, leaving ambulances without captious equipment, a disciplinary sheet heard.

The alarm was archetypal raised by a workfellow implicit missing instrumentality earlier constabulary searched Morgan-Kavanaugh's location and discovered 1 of the stolen items successful his garage. He was aboriginal convicted of the theft and handed a two-year suspended condemnation for his 'unforgivable' actions.

Now, helium has been expelled from the assemblage aft the sheet concluded that helium had 'deprived work users' of instrumentality astatine a clip erstwhile it was 'needed much than ever'. The Health and Care Professions tribunal, held online, heard that concerns astir instrumentality theft were archetypal raised with the South West Ambulance Service successful May 2020 by different subordinate of staff.

The lawsuit was yet referred to the constabulary who searched Morgan-Kavanaugh's location and recovered an ECG instrumentality that belonged to the ambulance service. Morgan-Kavanaugh resigned from the South West Ambulance Service successful February 2022.

He past pled blameworthy to a azygous number of theft astatine Plymouth Crown Court, Devon, successful January 2024, reports The Mirror.

The paramedic stole thousands of pounds worthy of items (Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

During a sentencing proceeding successful March 2024, Plymouth Crown Court learned of the shocking betrayal by a paramedic who lifted an ECG instrumentality and assorted aesculapian instrumentality worthy £2,996.40 betwixt July 2019 and September 2020. Morgan-Kavanaugh received a suspended condemnation of 2 years down bars, was mandated to implicit 200 hours of unpaid work, be 14 rehabilitation days, acquisition a intelligence wellness attraction review, and indispensable reimburse the NHS £3,000 successful compensation.

In a terrible admonishment, Judge Robert Linford condemned the egregious breach of trust, noting the ex-paramedic's relation during the relentless strains of the pandemic, stating: "That azygous number of theft reflected a unspeakable betrayal of spot that was reposed successful you, you were a paramedic, a truly highly qualified person, doing a precise precocious unit occupation successful appallingly stressful circumstances, of that determination tin beryllium nary doubt."

"You were a paramedic done the play of the pandemic. But successful breach of trust, successful savage breach of spot you stole spot valued astatine astir £3,000 from the trust. You did it by going into a storeroom astatine the, oregon adjacent to the hospital, taking this spot and selling oregon trying to merchantability it connected eBay. It is unforgivable that it was being done astatine a clip erstwhile the state needed this instrumentality much than it ever had."

Among the stolen items were an oxygen canister and ECG instrumentality (Image: undefined)

In a reckless enactment during the Covid crisis, paramedic Morgan-Kavanaugh was referred to the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) successful January 2023 by South West Ambulance Service for pinching important gear. HCPC's Jamila Bernard-Stevenson told the proceeding that the medic nicked 'important items', leaving patients and colleagues without indispensable kit.

The sheet said: "The theft, peculiarly of the oxygen cannister, which occurred during the Covid pandemic, deprived work users of entree to that instrumentality which had the imaginable to origin harm."

"The Panel took into relationship that for an ambulance to beryllium utilised it has to person the close instrumentality and theft of specified instrumentality from the store room, has the imaginable to interaction connected an ambulance being deployed. In crook this has the imaginable to origin harm to immoderate work idiosyncratic who requires that aesculapian support."

They concluded that booting Morgan-Kavanaugh disconnected the registry was captious to support spot successful paramedics aft his 'horrific' breach of spot astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile the NHS was hopeless for aesculapian supplies. "It progressive a unspeakable and 'savage breach of trust' astatine a clip erstwhile the state needed aesculapian instrumentality much than it ever had. The Panel was satisfied, based connected the quality and gravity of the conviction, unneurotic with [Morgan-Kavanaugh's] deficiency of insight, that a Striking Off Order was indispensable to support the public, uphold the standards for members of the profession, and to support nationalist assurance successful the profession."