A paramedic of 20 years’ experience has been struck off after being caught drink driving while going to get fish and chips for his elderly parents.

A Health and Care Professional Tribunal heard that Paul Charlton had been stopped in his car in Falmouth in June 2020 and was found to be two and half times the drink drive limit.

On July 23, 2020 he was convicted at Truro Magistrates’ Court of driving a motor vehicle whilst over the limit after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath was 95 micro-grammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Mr Charlton did not attend the tribunal on November 28 but a friend and colleague of Mr Charlton did and told the committee it was because he was in “extremely poor health”.

He had also told the colleague, identified as TB, that he would never return to work as a paramedic because of his health.

He said Mr Charlton knew that he had “made a big mistake” and “expects to be removed from the register one way or another”.

He did not want to return to being a paramedic (in respect of which career he was “very proud”) because of his health, and was “remorseful”.

“He understood what he has done is wrong and believes he will be struck off anyway. He stated he didn’t want to put the HCPC in disrepute.”

The panel heard that Charlton was a paramedic with South West Ambulance Service and was employed by it for 20 years.

In late 2018 he was put under the trust’s internal disciplinary procedures due to his sickness and absence.

He said he had been suffering with the health conditions for a period of three years following a series of traumatic events related to both his professional and personal life.

On June 25, 2020 he was stopped by police and was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol.

In an email to the HCPC on August 13, 2020, Mr Charlton said: “I had a drink and realised I had promised my parents, who are…both very unwell, fish and chips for tea.

“Without thinking and without rationale I got into the car and proceeded which is when I was stopped by the police.

“May I stress this is not an excuse but merely an explanation…I have suffered…for the last three years following a succession of traumatic events in work and social life.

“This has been addressed by the ambulance service and I have had a lot of support not only from the ambulance service but also occupational health, red poppy, the well-being service.”

The hearing was told that, in Mr Charlton’s own words he “forgot that he had promised his parents fish & chips” and drove to the fish and chip shop whilst under the influence of alcohol.

His van’s insurance had expired…and he had not realized. A police car pulled Mr Charlton’s car over due to the insurance and found him to be 2.5x the legal limit of alcohol.

The panel was told that this was a “tragic” case with Mr Charlton having practised for 20 years as a paramedic without blemish and otherwise had a career of extensive public service.

He accepted that his actions involved some “very dodgy decisions”.

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The panel was of the view that Mr Charlton had failed to demonstrate that he had developed any significant insight or had remediated his wrongdoing and that there was a real risk in him repeating his offending.

It noted his 20 years’ service and his admissions and his health and his unsuccessful attempts to address his problems but felt that the lack of any significant insight and the lack of any remediation, led to an increased risk of repetition.

They felt the potential for Mr Charlton causing serious harm to other road users, and himself, was immense and they struck him off.