A DOZEN convicted criminals, including eight sex offenders, have been stripped of their status as paramedics and banned from working in Ireland after the ambulance watchdog refused to renew their registrations, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.
A root-and-branch HR review, sparked by reporting in this newspaper, lifted the lid on 13 criminals, who were actively working as paramedics in Ireland as recently as December.
A confidential brief and letter to the Health Minister detailed the concerning revelations that there are no obligations to tell the ambulance regulator of paramedics with convictions for violent offences.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) has confirmed that of the 13 identified, 12 paramedics with criminal and sexual convictions are no longer on its register and cannot practise in Ireland any more.
It said: ‘In relation to PHECC registrants who have been convicted of offences, while we cannot comment on specific details concerning individual cases, PHECC can confirm that there are no registrants on the PHECC register with a sexual assault conviction.’
The PHECC told the Mail that once it is made aware of criminal convictions relating to a registrant, it refuses to renew their accreditation for the following year, meaning they can no longer work in Ireland.
All qualified paramedics working across the public, private, voluntary, and commercial sectors must register and renew their practice in Ireland with the PHECC, the agency established to regulate paramedicine.
Only one paramedic with a conviction remains, after it was determined their offence was unrelated to their professional practice.
It remains the case, however, that employers, paramedics, and service providers are in no way obligated to inform the PHECC when it is confirmed that they have convictions – meaning there could be many more criminals and sexual offenders working as paramedics who have not yet been identified.
The Mail can also reveal that a mass email was sent to all staff members across the National Ambulance Service (NAS) last Friday, after our exclusive report sparked ‘understandable concern’ among the workforce.
National Ambulance Service (NAS) Director Robert Morton maintained that Garda vetting procedures are actively adhered to ‘on a regular basis’ within the service.
They are required to take place once, before a person joins the workforce, with any subsequent vetting of an individual at the discretion of the health minister.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said it is practice to re-vet all staff engaged in relevant work with the public every three years.
Staff members ‘may be re-vetted’ in instances where they are due to be promoted to a higher grade, she added.
Mr Morton wrote in his email that ‘a number of former staff’ have been dismissed from the public service following revelations of criminal or sexual assault convictions.
Serious convictions against paramedics were brought to the attention of the regulator after a HR review at the National Ambulance Service (NAS), sparked after reporting by the Mail last year.
The NAS has said it ‘takes any issues or allegations very seriously’ and withdraws privileges from practitioners ‘permanently’ when wrongdoing accusations are upheld.
‘In those circumstances, NAS would notify the relevant regulator,’ a spokeswoman said.
The ambulance regulator notified Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill of its concerns
In a confidential brief to the Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill last December the PHECC raised concerns over its inability to properly regulate the workforce. It said it cannot prevent paramedics removing themselves from the register after being subject to a complaint and is limited in its ability to conduct fitness-to-practice inquiries.
It was also revealed that there are no obligations on paramedics or employers to inform the regulator of criminal convictions, including for sexual offences.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said it is satisfied that no known sexual offenders remain on the active register, stating that the PHECC is best placed to provide updates to its register.
The PHECC did not respond to queries about when the paramedics with sexual assault convictions were removed from the register.
The statement provided to the Mail, which confirmed that sexual offenders are no longer active paramedics, was shared in the correspondence sent to all NAS staff last Friday.
Mr Morton said he contacted the PHECC after our reporting to seek assurances that no criminals were practising in the NAS.
He claimed the NAS has obligations to Garda vetting, children-first guidelines and the mandatory training required for all staff.
The Mail previously revealed a litany of claims of sexual assault at the NAS, including a secret report that found most female paramedic staff in the northeast encountered sexual harassment at work.
The PHECC said in a statement that it ‘remains committed’ to protecting the public by regulating pre-hospital care in Ireland.
Work is under way between PHECC and the Department of Health to address gaps in legislation which reduce the regulator’s powers to conduct fitness-to-practice inquiries.
The PHECC said it was not authorised to reclassify a new division of specialist paramedics, established in 2019. This means the cohort are not authorised to administer advanced medicine by law.
It added that this placed an unfair burden on a single staff member in the NAS, responsible for oversight of the group, and limited the paramedics’ ability to carry out their roles.
The agency said the lack of oversight ‘denies a cohort of patients timely, appropriate, and safer care in the community’.
However, a HSE spokeswoman rejected this, claiming clinical practice levels ‘do not always align’ with employment grades and that all paramedics remain subject to fitness-to-practise inquiries.