A FORMER paramedic named as ‘a threat to the public’ has been struck off after having a five-month affair with a ‘vulnerable’ patient.

Darrel Dimond appeared before a Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS) panel last week after having a relationship with a patient which involved having sex while his ambulance was parked outside her home and using his work email to send ‘inappropriate’ pictures.

The hearing heard how in January 2016 the ex-South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) paramedic, who worked in Basingstoke, was called out to help a woman who had suffered a seizure.

At the scene, the pair exchanged phone numbers and, as reported by the Metro, he then drove her home for a two-hour sex session while his ambulance was parked outside.

The affair is believed to have been lasted until May 2016.

During the hearing, the panel heard Dimond used his “work email address to exchange photographs of an inappropriate nature.”

As reported in the Metro, weeks before he was set to appear before the HCPTS, which ruled he ‘breached professional boundaries’, the 41-year-old tried to delete emails he had sent the woman before his laptop was taken for investigation.

Dimond, who was suspended by SCAS after the allegations emerged, claimed he did not give his mobile number to the patient and she “must have found it online”. However, the investigation found no trace of his number on the internet.

The HCPTS panel heard ‘Mr Dimond abandoned what he knew to be professional standards’ and he acted in a way to conduct sexual relations in the knowledge she was a vulnerable patient.

As reported by the Metro, panel chair Manuela Grayson said because of the inappropriate nature of the relationship, HCPT had “no alternative” but to take action again Dimond.

She said: “We have no alternative but to strike off Mr Dimond from the register. He continues to be a threat to the public.”

Speaking this week, a spokesperson from SCAS said: “Mr Dimond was suspended by SCAS after allegations were made against him and following an internal investigation was then dismissed.

“The trust has no further comment to make on the recent Health and Care Professions Council hearing and decision.”