[kirklancaster]

Taxi driver beaten up in his cab was told to make his own way to hospital while his ‘attacker was treated in an ambulance for a panic attack’

Granddad Rob King, 64, was punched repeatedly through the open window of his car while waiting for a fare in Sheerness, Kent

By Neal Baker
18th July 2018, 12:38 pmUpdated: 18th July 2018, 1:00 pm
A TAXI driver beaten unconscious in his cab says he was told to make his own way to hospital while the yob who assaulted him was treated for a "panic attack".

He was punched repeatedly through the open window of his car as he waited for a fare outside a pizza shop in Sheerness, Kent.

But when he called 999 he was told that ambulance crews were too busy and that he would have to make his own way to hospital.

He said: "Because my injuries weren't considered life-threatening, I was asked if someone else could drive me.

"Then I learned my ambulance had been sent to my attacker who was suffering a panic attack in the high street and was unable to breathe."

Mr King was left with a broken cheekbone after the alleged unprovoked attack

The cabbie was waiting for a fare when he was punched through the open window of his car
He was driven by a cabbie colleague to Medway Maritime Hospital where he was told his alleged attacker was treated rather than him.

Former boxer Mr King added: "You couldn't make it up".

His partner Dhareigne Pearson, 56, said that after the July 1 attack Rob was scared to go back to work.

She told the Sheerness Times Guardian newspaper today: "Rob was waiting for a fare outside a kebab shop when this yob came over and punched the hell out of him through the open window.

"It was so fast and vicious that it knocked him for six."

A spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed that it was called to attend Mr King at 3.20am, but that due to a "high level of demand", operators asked him to make his own way to hospital.

They also confirmed that an ambulance was sent to treat a man outside the Cyprus Kebab & Pizza takeaway at 3.50am who was "having trouble breathing'"- with paramedics staying with him for an hour.

The spokesman said: "Because we had a very high level of demand that night we asked if he (Mr King) could make his own way to hospital as the injuries weren't life-threatening.

"We later received a call at 3.50am to a man outside the Cyprus Kebab & Pizza shop who was having trouble breathing.

"We sent one ambulance crew which stayed with him for an hour. He didn't require hospital treatment."

The spokesman added: "We apologise to the taxi driver, but this was an extremely busy night mainly because of the hot weather."

A Kent Police spokesman confirmed that a 19-year-old man had been arrested at the scene and had now been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The teenager is due before magistrates in Maidstone on July 26.

Can ANYONE sort out this P.C- soaked,'Look After The Perpetrator' ****ED UP country?

[Mokka]

Can ANYONE sort out this P.C- soaked,'Look After The Perpetrator' ****ED UP country?
__________________

Sure.
You are equally allowed medical help because you are both human beings.... and those with the more severe injuries are treated first. It makes sense. If our medical practitioners did not take the Hippocratic oath... What type of society would we be in? Where justice was doled out by judgement before laws or judicial process were able to run their due course? The man is now charged for his crime and will face due process.
Do you want to live in a society where no laws are upheld and justice is determined by the individual present at the time rather than the rules set up by the majority? Rules and laws are set for all situations to prevent justice based on one persons view of a moment. With out that... it's just chaos.

[Oliver_W]

The headline and some of the opening sentences make it sound like the paramedics arrived and actively ignored the taxi driver while treating his assailant's "panic attack". The paramedics were there to treat the latter, they probably had no idea he'd beaten someone up.

As for being told to make his own way there, the telephone operator probably thought he'd been involved in a drunken fight and gotten injured - should they send out ambulances for every time that happens?

[Nicky91]

poor guy

[arista]

Yes not nice

[user104658]

Ambulances are for life-threatening and serious injury situations ONLY AND ALWAYS. If your injuries are not serious (immobilising) or life-threatening, an ambulance shouldn't be called. Ever.

That's first and foremost. Not to be heartless but, an ambulance shouldn't be sent out to someone with minor facial injuries even if there were 10 sitting doing nothing at all. It's not what ambulances are for. If there were signs that he had a concussion etc. then yes, an ambulance would be appropriate.

An ambulance would be sent for a severe panic attack because it's impossible to know that that's what it is, and isn't a more serious heart or respiratory problem which would be a medical emergency.


Secondly... neither the dispatcher nor the ambulance services would have had any idea that the person they were sent for had just mugged someone else, let alone that that person had (rightly) been refused an ambulance. As mentioned above... it's not like they turned up, told the victim to **** off and sat tending to the attacker.


Hate to say it Kirk but this is "fake news". Tabloid outrage-trash. The facts;

1) The cabbie DIDN'T need urgent medical attention, and was able to get medical attention by other means

2) The attacker was arrested and charged.



That is the 100% correct outcome, and literally nothing else in this story matters.

[Withano]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Ambulances are for life-threatening and serious injury situations ONLY AND ALWAYS. If your injuries are not serious (immobilising) or life-threatening, an ambulance shouldn't be called. Ever.

That's first and foremost. Not to be heartless but, an ambulance shouldn't be sent out to someone with minor facial injuries even if there were 10 sitting doing nothing at all. It's not what ambulances are for. If there were signs that he had a concussion etc. then yes, an ambulance would be appropriate.

An ambulance would be sent for a severe panic attack because it's impossible to know that that's what it is, and isn't a more serious heart or respiratory problem which would be a medical emergency.


Secondly... neither the dispatcher nor the ambulance services would have had any idea that the person they were sent for had just mugged someone else, let alone that that person had (rightly) been refused an ambulance. As mentioned above... it's not like they turned up, told the victim to **** off and sat tending to the attacker.


Hate to say it Kirk but this is "fake news". Tabloid outrage-trash. The facts;

1) The cabbie DIDN'T need urgent medical attention, and was able to get medical attention by other means

2) The attacker was arrested and charged.



That is the 100% correct outcome, and literally nothing else in this story matters.

I was gonna say the exact same thing. Maybe word for word idk.

Ambulances aren't there to settle the law, they’re there to save lives.

[Josy]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Ambulances are for life-threatening and serious injury situations ONLY AND ALWAYS. If your injuries are not serious (immobilising) or life-threatening, an ambulance shouldn't be called. Ever.

That's first and foremost. Not to be heartless but, an ambulance shouldn't be sent out to someone with minor facial injuries even if there were 10 sitting doing nothing at all. It's not what ambulances are for. If there were signs that he had a concussion etc. then yes, an ambulance would be appropriate.

An ambulance would be sent for a severe panic attack because it's impossible to know that that's what it is, and isn't a more serious heart or respiratory problem which would be a medical emergency.


Secondly... neither the dispatcher nor the ambulance services would have had any idea that the person they were sent for had just mugged someone else, let alone that that person had (rightly) been refused an ambulance. As mentioned above... it's not like they turned up, told the victim to **** off and sat tending to the attacker.


Hate to say it Kirk but this is "fake news". Tabloid outrage-trash. The facts;

1) The cabbie DIDN'T need urgent medical attention, and was able to get medical attention by other means

2) The attacker was arrested and charged.



That is the 100% correct outcome, and literally nothing else in this story matters.

Tbf here though the man was unconscious to start with which is more than likely why an ambulance was called.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Josy

Tbf here though the man was unconscious to start with which is more than likely why an ambulance was called.

Well, he says now that he was but it was him who called the ambulance so he was obviously conscious and alert when he called for it. Purely guesswork but I would imagine he didn't say anything at the time about having blacked out, as its highly unlikely they would have told him to make his own way (drive) to hospital if he mentioned blacking out. It seems like an added detail after the fact for dramatic effect, to be honest.

[armand.kay]

To be fair from the ambulance's point of view they got 2 separate calls, one from the taxi driver himself after being punched and one from a bystander reporting that theres someone who's unable to breathe. I can totally understand why they chose to help the latter as that had more chances of being life threatening.

[Smithy]

Brexit Britain