Man who died 'refused treatment'

A man who died two days after being attacked in a pub probably would have lived if he had sought medical treatment, a court heard.

Keith Waterworth was found dead in the bedroom of his flat in Fleetwood, Lancashire, in April 2008.

He had suffered multiple nose fractures after being punched by James Howard in a pub in Fleetwood, Lancashire.

Howard, who had just been released from prison, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for three years.

Mr Waterworth suffered a deep cut to the bridge of the nose in the attack but refused attempts by paramedics to get him to hospital.

'Unusual' case

He was found dead at his flat in Fleetwood on 22 April after suffering massive blood loss, Preston Crown Court heard.

Howard, of North Albert Street, Fleetwood, told police he had punched Mr Waterworth, a father-of-three, after being provoked.

Sentencing him on Friday, the judge said it was a "tragic case and unusual case".

A consultant pathologist had stated that Mr Waterworth would most likely have survived if he had gone to hospital, the court heard.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2009/03/27 18:44:37 GMT

Most New EMS Recruits Overweight or Obese

Massachusetts finding has troubling implications for public safety, experts say

More than 75 percent of candidates for fire and ambulance services in Massachusetts are either overweight or obese, a situation that has major consequences for public health and safety, researchers say.

"First, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal injury are important causes of [disability and death] in emergency responders, and excess body fat is associated with higher risk for both. Second, because of the nature of emergency response work, any health condition suddenly incapacitating an emergency responder also potentially compromises the safety of his or her co-workers and the community," lead author Antonios Tsismenakis, a second-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine, said in a news release.

A team from BUSM, Boston Medical Center, Harvard University and the Cambridge Health Alliance reviewed the pre-placement medical examinations of 370 firefighter and ambulance recruits assessed at two Massachusetts clinics between October 2004 and June 2007.

They found that 43.8 percent of the recruits were overweight, 33 percent were obese, and only 22 percent were normal weight.

Excess weight as measured by body-mass index (BMI) was associated with higher blood pressures, worse metabolic profiles and lower exercise tolerance on treadmill stress tests, the researchers said.

While all normal-weight recruits achieved the National Fire Protection Agency's recommended minimum exercise threshold of 12 metabolic equivalents, 42 percent of obese and 7 percent of overweight recruits failed to meet the criteria.

The study appears online March 19 in the journal Obesity.

"These findings are strong evidence against the common misconception in the emergency responder community that many of their members have BMIs in the overweight and obese ranges simply on the basis of increased muscle mass. Even in these young recruits, we documented a very strong association between excess BMI and an increased cardiovascular risk profile," study senior author Dr. Stefanos Kales, director of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency, Harvard School of Public Health, said in the news release.

More information

There's more on fighting overweight and obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A NYC EMT worker was charged with abandoning a child

by Claudette Rothman in crazy, crime

Authorities said that Paul Casson, 28, did not want to stick around for a nurse’s signature last New Year’s Eve after dropping the five-year-old boy, who was in a car accident, off at the hospital, so he forged a nurse’s signature and left the child there.

EMT workers are required to fill out Patient Care Reports and get them signed by a designated nurse before leaving the hospital.

Fortunately, for Casson, the boy did not have life threatening injuries.

If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

DOI ARRESTS AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN ON FORGERY CHARGES

(converted from PDF content)  The City of New York Department of Investigation ROSE GILL HEARN COMMISSIONER  80 MAIDEN LANE           Release #22-2009 NEW YORK, NY 10038           nyc.gov/html/doi 212-825-5900  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   CONTACT: DIANE STRUZZI FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009                                     
(212) 825-5931
DOI ARRESTS AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN ON FORGERY CHARGES  ROSE GILL HEARN, Commissioner of the Department of Investigation ("DOI"), announced the arrest today of PAUL CASSON, an Emergency Medical Technician ("EMT") employed by the New York City Fire Department ("FDNY"), on charges that he forged a nurse's signature and then left his five-year-old patient at the Lincoln Hospital Emergency room in the Bronx. The office of Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson is prosecuting the case.
CASSON, 28, of the Bronx, was charged with Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Forgery in the Second Degree, class D felonies, and six misdemeanors. Upon conviction, a class D felony is punishable by up to seven years in prison.  CASSON has been employed as an EMT since November 2002, is assigned to Station 17, on Ogden Avenue in the Bronx, and receives an annual salary of approximately $44,520.  DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, "Forging another person's signature, especially on a medical report, is unacceptable conduct for an individual entrusted with taking care of medical emergencies. Anyone who engages in such foolish and illegal behavior will face the consequences."  DOI's investigation began after it was notified by the FDNY about an allegation that CASSON forged the signature of a triage nurse at Lincoln Hospital.  According to the criminal complaint, on Dec. 31, 2008, CASSON transported a five-year-old child to the Emergency Room at Lincoln Hospital on E.149th St. for treatment. To properly transfer the patient from the EMT's care to another appropriate professional in the hospital, an EMT must fill out a Patient Care Report ("PCR") and have it signed by a designated hospital "receiving agent". DOI's investigation found that the hospital official's signature on the form was forged, according to the complaint, and that the official heard CASSON say he signed the official's name on the PCR because he didn't want to wait.  Commissioner Gill Hearn thanked FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Lincoln Hospital for their assistance and cooperation in this case.  This investigation was conducted by DOI's Office of the Inspector General for FDNY.  A criminal complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.