Sex pest paramedic is struck off after harassing three of his younger female colleagues
A sex pest paramedic who harassed three younger female colleagues has been struck off.Married Graham Scott told a fellow ambulance crew member - aged in her early 20s - 'We could make mad passionate love' in an empty station, a tribunal heard.He also invited her to shower with him in the ambulance station during Covid lockdown, telling her 'I can scrub your back for you'. The senior paramedic with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust told another female colleague 'You're a bit uptight. What you need is a good f***.'The remarks left the women feeling nauseous and uncomfortable, but Scott, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, dismissed his remarks as locker room banter, the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) Tribunal Service was told.Scott, who had worked for the East of England Ambulance Service for almost 19 years, was based in the Waveney Region.The region comprises of three ambulance stations which are located at Waveney, Potter Heigham and Beccles.He was a Band 6 Paramedic working out of the Beccles Ambulance Station at the time of these events.The tribunal heard formal complaints from the three female colleagues were made between approximately 27 October and 30 December 2020. In response to those complaints the Trust instigated an investigation and undertook interviews with the complainants in January 2021. Married Graham Scott told a fellow ambulance crew member - aged in her early 20s - 'We could make mad passionate love' in an empty station, a tribunal heardAnd Scott was suspended until the disciplinary hearing on 16 July 2021, when he was dismissed from the Trust.The HCPC found the three complainants, who are not named, credible, consistent, and honest.Colleague A, a fellow paramedic, told the hearing that on 16 September 2020 Scott said to her: 'You're a bit uptight. What you need is a good f***. Anybody at work you fancy?'And: 'A f*** is a f*** and it would do you some good' or words to that effect.And: 'I'll give you my number if you like. Just message me whenever you want' or words to that effect.He also sent a Facebook 'friend' request, adding: 'Feel free to message me whenever you want a little something.'Prior to the 16 September 2020 they had only worked together on three occasions and the comments were made whilst she and her crew mate were in the rest area at Waveney station. The sending of the Facebook was while they were at John Paget Hospital.Colleague A was left shocked and uncomfortable, and had laughed along and tried to move the conversation off topic by making a joke of herself, saying that no one would want to have sex with her.The HCPC heard there was a consistent pattern of inappropriate behaviour addressed to either younger or more junior female colleagues, where he had exploited the power imbalance.Colleague B, an emergency medical technician (EMT), told the HCPC that on 20 October 2020, during Covid restrictions, paramedics had to shower after shifts to avoid contamination before going home.At the Beccles ambulance station, at that time, the shower in the men's changing facilities was not working. Men were therefore using the only working shower in the women's changing facilities which had a glass shower screen.Scott had suggested to her that they could shower together, which scared her.The 'happily married' EMT left the ambulance station immediately without showering and went home unwashed therefore exposing her family to possible Covid infection.Scott had told her: 'I can scrub your back for you. We can both get in the shower together' or words to that effect.Around 2018 he regularly told her that they could be 'friends with benefits'.And, as they drove back together to an a small, remote, empty ambulance station, he said 'We could make mad passionate love' when they got there.He also asked her: 'When are we going to have an affair?'She told the HCPC 'Hell would have to freeze over' before she had an affair with him.Colleague C told the panel that she had returned to the Waveney ambulance station without her rapid response vehicle having accompanied a patient to hospital with the ambulance.She was looking for anyone on a break who may be able to take her back to where she had left her car which was about a thirty-minute drive away.Colleague C went into the kitchen area where Scott was sat on a chair at a dining table. Colleague C described in her evidence how she was standing behind his chair when she asked out loud if anyone was on a break and able to take her back. At this request the he swung round in his chair and put his hands on Colleague C's thigh and said, 'what is wrong with these'. Colleague C estimated that the Registrant's hands were midway up her thigh and that the hand on the inside of her thigh stretched round to the back encircling her thigh.She screamed at Scott 'get your f***ing hands off me' at which point he removed his hands and moved his hands into the airColleague C was angry at being touched without permission.The panel decided that Scott's comments and actions were sexually motivated, seriously offensive and degrading.Colleagues A and C were in their early 20s at the time of the incidents and at a relatively early stage of their paramedic careers. Colleague B was junior to the Registrant. The Panel considered that, as a result, all three colleagues were vulnerable, and that Scott had preyed upon their vulnerability.The panel noted a complete lack of insight, remorse, apology and remediation on Scott's side.HCPC issued a Striking Off Order for public protection and the wider public interest.Scott's response to the HCPC hearing was: 'I have been suspended from work pending their investigation for nine months and have now had my disciplinary hearing and been dismissed from the trust, all this over what used to be called a joke.'He also referred to the hearing as a 'witch hunt'.
