Paramedic at the scene of teenage suicide told police to stop CPR, court listens

A paramedic accused of failing to provide adequate life support to a teenager urged police officers to stop CPR just minutes after they arrived, a court heard.

Quinn Beadle was found hanged in Shildon, County Durham on December 9, 2018. Her brother Dyllon took his own life less than a year later after being unable to come to terms with her suicide.

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) operative paramedic Gavin Wood traveled to the scene of Ms Beadle’s death in a fast response vehicle.

When he arrived, two police officers were already providing CPR to the 17-year-old. By the time a community paramedic and interviewed crew arrived, Mr Wood had made the decision to stop CPR and pronounced Ms Beadle deceased.

Quinn Beadle, 17, (pictured right) was found hanging from a tree near her home in December 2018. Disabled following her suicide, her brother Dyllon, 21 (pictured, left) took his own life two months recently on the first anniversary of her death

Ms Beadle’s family are said to have previously been “hounded” by claims a paramedic could have saved her life.

In 2021, it was reported that the 17-year-old had been pronounced dead “too quickly” with no attempt made to revive her.

Although the family initially thought the case was “open and closed,” they later claimed there was a “wicked cover-up” of the incident.

Dyllon Milburn, Ms Beadle’s brother, later took his own life after being distressed by the case and reading the account of the paramedic’s conduct.

After Ms Beadle’s suicide, a clinician raised concerns that Mr Wood had not done all he could about treatment.

An arbitral tribunal shall determine whether his fitness for work was impaired as a result of misconduct and/or a medical condition.

Alan Potts, who was conducting an investigation on behalf of the NEAS, was the first person to testify. He told the hearing that the report did not support the decision-making Mr. Wood later made.

He said: “Within two to three minutes of arriving at the scene, the recognition of extinct life was carried out.

“There was an act of resuscitation, with the police officers doing that, and when the registrant arrived, the registrant called to ask them to stop.

“There did not appear to be adequate justification for the registrant making the decision to halt the ongoing revival.

“When asked, the registrant suggested that he should have provided advanced life support. The registrant had not provided thorough basic life support by aborting the initial CPR.’

The tribunal heard guidelines say paramedics should use an EKG to record the heart’s activity for at least 30 seconds.

Mr Potts said Mr Wood told another paramedic he would take a 30-second printout after he had already completed CPR. He said that he claimed he couldn’t print it because of a bug or problem with the machine.

Emergency services rushed to the scene where Quinn Beadle took his own life. Paramedic Gavin Wood has been accused of misconduct in his response to the incident

Mr Potts, a clinical operations manager, told the court that Mr Wood had used it during the day with no problems and no concerns had been raised.

An investigation revealed that a 16-second reading had been recorded. Mr Potts said: “Normally you would read an EKG. There was no reading that lasted longer than 16 seconds. You would need at least a 30 second strip.

“I would expect that if someone did Recognition of Life Extinct there would be at least 30 second rhythm strips. I would rather not do 30 seconds, I would do more. The minimum is 30 seconds.

“Unless there is a larger issue at stake, having the acknowledgment of extinct life without the expression would not suffice. It would be unusual to make a decision on this without having posted or produced at least a 30 second strip.’

The court heard no effort was made to clear the 17-year-old’s airway. Mr Potts said the investigation to find out if her pulse had been checked was “inconclusive”.

Mr Wood, who has been practicing paramedics since 1997, did not attend the first day of the tribunal, which is expected to last until January 20.

He is accused of failing to follow the guidelines of the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and/or the guidelines of the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee on nine counts, including failing to check Ms Beadle’s airway or use a defibrillator.

Mr Wood is also accused of telling his two colleagues that the teenager had no heartbeat when he had not had an electrocardiogram and telling them that he had checked her thigh pulse when she wasn’t.

The paramedic is also accused of failing to save the defibrillator’s data and telling colleagues he couldn’t print when he wasn’t.

He is also accused of posting on Facebook, in violation of the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust’s social media policy, commenting that his reputation had been “ruined” by a press release.

Mr Wood is accused of being dishonest about his conduct. He is also accused of misconduct.

The court has recognized that he has a physical/mental health condition.

The judgment goes on.