The provincial law courts in Granada heard the explanations given by an ambulance driver who was found to be under the influence on a call out.

The driver/paramedic had arrived to pick up a patient in his 70s in Zaidín on the 20th of January but was found to be over the limit.

At the hearing the driver explained that “he had only had a carajillo that morning (black coffee with a brandy top-up). This is an early-morning, breakfast special that some consider has the effect of an adrenaline kick-start.

He also pointed out to the judge that he had been driving ambulances for the last 30 years and had “never had a similar problem.”

His defence lawyer also said that, besides taking blood-pressure tablets, he had also taken two Nolotil ones (pain killers) one anti-inflammatory tablets (not specified) and a stomach protector (Omepratzol) that morning.

He said that he had not set off from the medical centre, but from the coordination centre (in Pulianas) after he had received the call out, which is why it took 20 to 25 minutes to reach the home of the patient.

Asked what he was doing when he received the call out, he replied that he was cleaning the ambulance as per anti-Covid procedure at the time and filling up with fuel.

He added that he was driving a transport ambulance and not an emergencies one; i.e., a vehicle for ferrying patients to medical appointments and back, adding that in the case of the deceased, he had not used his sirens because the man who had been complaining of abdominal pains, had died “as he was being placed on the stretcher.”

The family of the deceased stated that they had placed three calls to 112 and that the ambulance when it did eventually arrived, did so very late. The judge, however, threw out the case of negligence on the part of the emergency services – the family attends to appeal against this.

In the court sentence it reflects the fact that the septuagenarian patient was suffering from several illnesses and concluded that there was no Lex Artis to establish a malpractice case against the accused. As for the tardiness of the ambulance and that the driver had failed a breathalyser, the judge considered that these “lamentable circumstances were not criminally relevant.”

He still faces charges of drink-driving as one of the relatives noted that he appeared drunk and phoned the Policía Local who breathalysed him which gave a reading of 0.65 m/l (professional drivers have a limit of of 0.15 m/l).

We reported on the incidence in January, which you can follow here.

(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia)