Compensation ordered to North East Ambulance Service following damaged equipment
A Durham man has been ordered to pay compensation to North East Ambulance Service after damaging equipment.
Martin Arthur Fallon, aged 20, of Featherstone Road, received an ambulance following an alleged assault in the Pity Me area on 6 September 2015.
After receiving treatment from a North East Ambulance Service crew, Fallon became aggressive towards police officers who were also on the scene and was subsequently arrested.
A scuffle ensued, resulting in the damage to the sats probe on his finger. The damage came to a total of £258.90.
Fallon appeared at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 7 January, where he pleaded guilty two charges of criminal damage.
He also pleaded guilty to two charges of assault, obstructing or resisting a constable in the execution of duty and assaulting a constable in the execution of his or her duty.
He was ordered to pay £258.90 to North East Ambulance Service, as well as being given a two-year community order.
Douglas McDougall, Head of Emergency Care South for North East Ambulance Service, said: “As a Trust, we take the damage of any equipment or assault of our staff extremely seriously.
“Emergency Services personnel dedicate themselves to saving and protecting the lives of people in our community and it is not acceptable that we have to experience any kind of abuse whilst at work.
“We are pleased to see incidents such as these are taken seriously and that appropriate sentencing has been awarded.”
Notes to editors
Notes to editors:
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region. It employs more than 2,500 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS 111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.
In 2014/15 the service answered 1.107 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 302,687 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged 18,144 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged 81,990 patients at home. In the same year, emergency care crews reached 134,745 incidents within the national target of 8 minutes.