** New Hampshire trial begins for paramedic accused of stealing meds
** UK woman ordered to pay meagre compensation to medics after grabbing their buttocks
UNITED STATES NEWS
** Trial proceedings are currently underway for a New Hampshire paramedic accused of stealing medications from Rochester’s Frisbee Memorial Hospital. WMUR (March 9) said Donald Penney, 50, faces 29 different charges involving fentanyl and hydromorphone. Penney, who worked as a paramedic at the hospital at the time, allegedly used the drugs to self medicate after a shoulder injury. Hospital staff said behavioural changes tipped them to the thefts, along with Penney avidly seeking out patients who required meds. Police say this allowed him to access the drugs for his own use. Penney’s lawyer said his actions were to ensure patients were not in pain. He also said the charges against his client stemmed more from the standard strained EMS/nurse relationship, as well as faulty drug record keeping.
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A Darlington woman has been ordered to pay two paramedics 25 pounds each after being found guilty of inappropriately touching them on their respective buttocks. That is the word from The Northern Echo (Steve Trask/March 10) which said Lesley Hunt, 37, was given the sentence Wednesday after pleading guilty to assault by beating x 2 and being drunk and disorderly x 1. According to the newspaper, Hunt groped the medics’ behinds after first hailing them while she was drunk. Her lawyer said Hunt’s actions related to her despondency over her troubled personal life and the loss of her job. Along with paying each paramedic, she was tasked with 85 pounds court costs and a 12 month conditional discharge. The male and female paramedic involved in the call, meanwhile, told the court they felt degraded and disgusted by the entire incident.
