Merseyside paramedic struck off over pain relief and threats
A paramedic from Merseyside has been struck off for helping himself to pain relief while on duty and making death threats to a colleague.
Ian Delaney was removed from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) register following a disciplinary hearing.
Chair of the HCPC panel Sarah Baalham said he behaved "unacceptably" and fell "well below" professional standards.
Mr Delaney no longer works for the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
The paramedic, who had worked for the trust for almost 15 years, was not present at the hearing but was represented by an advocate.
The HCPC conduct and competence panel heard Mr Delaney took Entonox, a mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen used in procedures such as child birth and tooth extractions, in October 2012.
He had claimed he self-administered the drug to relieve pain in his foot.
In December of that year, the panel heard, he made verbal and written death threats to a female colleague who he blamed for reporting him.
Mr Delaney had his driving license suspended following alcohol misuse before May 2012 and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) allowed him to return to work for six months doing duties that did not require him to drive, the hearing was told.
Ms Baalham said his misconduct was "serious" and "deliberate" and his actions "fall well below the professional standards required by the HCPC".
She said: "In particular the self-administration of Entonox is a breach of a fundamental tenet of paramedic practice."
She said the panel recognised he was "under emotional pressure" in his personal life that had contributed to him behaving out of character but he acted "unacceptably and without integrity".
The NWAS said Mr Delaney's contract was terminated in February 2013 on the grounds he still did not have a valid driving licence.