The female paramedics who blocked a man’s driveway trying to save a dying man only to receive a furious note from him has hit back saying people ‘just have to wait’.
Five days ago Amy Holton rushed to the aid of a 42-year-old man in Small Heath, Birmingham, and was forced to park her ambulance in front of someone’s drive to try to save him.
To her disbelief, the man who’s house it was – Hassan Shabbir, 27 – left them a furious note saying: ‘You may be saving lives, but don’t park your van in a stupid place and block my drive.’
Her colleague Natasha Starkey shared the note on social media, which quickly went viral.
Five days ago Amy Holton (pictured left) rushed to the aid of a 42-year-old man in Small Heath, Birmingham, and was forced to park her ambulance in front of someone’s drive to try to save him. To her and her colleague Natasha Starkey (right)’s disbelief they were left an angry note by the person who’s drive they blocked
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning today, the pair explained ‘sometimes they just don’t have a choice’ and ‘people will have to wait’.
They also revealed they have been injured, groped and spat out, while on the job.
Ms Holton explained: ‘It was my ambulance, and we were sent to a very unwell man, who we found out has now sadly passed away.
‘We were on scene for less than half an hour trying to stablise him before we could take him to hospital.
‘We were straight out of his house and into the ambulance, so they could all see us and how busy we were.
‘There was a gentleman parked behind us trying to get onto his drive, but sadly our ambulance was partially blocking the driveway.
The paramedics had positioned the vehicle outside a house as they helped a patient who was in a critical condition and vomiting blood – the 42-year-old man later died in hospital. This is the note Hassan Shabbir left on the ambulance
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning today with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (pictured), the pair explained ‘sometimes they just don’t have a choice’ and ‘people will have to wait’.
‘He at some point he left us a note, but we weren’t made aware of this until we got to hospital, where our colleagues at the hospital told us.’
The patient, who was reportedly vomiting blood and had internal bleeding, tragically died at Heartlands Hopsital in Birmingham.
Speaking after returning from his job as a teaching assistant at St Saviour’s Primary School in Birmingham, Mr Shabbir offered an apology to the deceased man’s family.
The father, of Small Heath, Birmingham, said: ‘What I did was monstrous, but I am not a monster. There is no justification for what I did.
‘I am deeply ashamed at my actions, even before I found out the poor man had died.
‘Now I know that it makes it even worse, and my heart goes out to his family. I feel truly sorry and I completely regret what I did.’
Hassan Shabbir, 27, wrote a note and left in on the windscreen and told the ambulance driver to not park on his drive
But asked by This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield whether his apology was ‘enough’, Ms Holton replied: ‘He’s said sorry, he’s aware what he did was wrong and he’s trying to make amends for it.
‘But would he have said sorry if it hadn’t have gone so public? That’s the question.’
Her colleague Ms Starkey added: ‘Sometimes we don’t have a choice.
‘We don’t actively go out to block someone in or block someone’s drive
‘But if its a critical call we need to get in there – unfortunately people are going to have to wait.
‘If we walk in and it’s not too bad we can go back and move it and we do every day.’
The two young emergency service workers, who have both been in the job for two years or less, also revealed the extent of abuse they have suffered on duty.
Hassan Shabbir (pictured) has since apologised for his behaviour, branding it ‘monstrous’
Ms Holton told the programme: ‘I’ve had my wrist broke by a patient.
‘We were in the back of ambulance and attempting to cannulate him, he was aware of everything that was happening and he lashed out with his feet.
‘I was bent over so I tried to protect my face with my wrist, but he was wearing steel-capped boots.
‘He was still kicking off so he had to be restrained.’
She told viewers the man involved got a 14-month suspended sentence and 150 hours unpaid community service as a result of his actions.
The young paramedic added: ‘I’ve been hit around the face by a girl who had already been arrested for assaulting one of my colleagues.
‘She got a community order and a fine.
‘I’ve been spat at multiple times.’
Her colleague Natasha was left terrified when someone spat at her, who was later revealed to have Hepatitis C.
She said: ‘I’ve been spat at and the patient had Hepatitis C, sp there were concerns whether I’d contract anything.
‘There’s been endless verbal abuse, I’ve had sexual comments and I’ve been groped.’
She added that her colleagues ‘walk into the crew room and it’s always a new story of who’s been assaulted or who’s said what’.
Asked whether it put either of them off the job, they both defiantly replied ‘no’ and said ‘the good outweighs the bad’.
The patient had been at Livingstone House, a charity and rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol addicts, for three months
They also discussed a bill currently being debated in Parliament, which will double sentences for assaults made against emergency workers.
Ms Holton commented: ‘The bill will give the courts a alot more power to bring in harsher sentences.
‘There’s powers they can use already, but this brings it to the fore front and makes it an aggravating factor.
Asked whether the Assaults on Emergency Workers (offences) Bill is enough to resolve the issue, Ms Starkey replied: ‘We’d prefer it if there were less assaults but I don’t think it’s ever going to happen
‘It will give us more confidence when it comes to us going to court.
‘Because at the moment I think we all have the attitude that the police will do their best but after that it won’t go very far.
‘The person who spat at me got a longer suspended sentence than Amy’s and she got her wrist broken, so it’s inconsistent.’
The ambulance in Small Heath had been forced to double park outside the at the drugs rehab centre as it had no other option and paramedics battled for an hour and a half to save him.
But the 42-year-old resident passed away after being rushed to hospital with ‘massive internal bleeding’.
Mr Hassan, who lives three doors down from Livingstone House where the ambulance had parked, claimed he waited patiently behind the ambulance for 20 minutes before losing it and writing the note.
He said he was coming home to switch cars and go to an appointment on Friday and that previous issues with parking on the street caused him snap.
He said: ‘I was coming home from work and had to go to an appointment on a different car.
‘There was another guy waiting to come out of the drive but we were both blocked by the ambulance for 20 minutes.
‘I just snapped and had a rush of blood to the head. I scribbled the note, rushed out and put it on the windscreen. There is no excuse for what I did. It was very bad.
‘I knew it was wrong before a friend told me what had happened to the man in it. But parking here is very bad, and I’ve been blocked in before.
‘I’ve been blocked by the police as well, not knowing where they are or what they are doing. There have been times I’ve been blocked from going to work. If I could take it back I would.
Mr Hassan, who was born with a congenital condition affecting his right hand which forced him to have reconstructive surgery, says he recognises the value of the NHS and the role it plays.
He even impresses the important of the service to children at school.
He said: ‘Of course we teach respect of the NHS and paramedics at school. It’s very important.
‘I was born with a congenital condition and the NHS had helped me so much in my life. I really respect those guys.
‘When my wife was pregnant with our first child, she had to be rushed to hospital and we were blocked in. It was a bad memory but there is no justification.
‘I have been to pray and ask for forgiveness. I hope the family accept my apology.’
A neighbour added: ‘My brother was trying to get the car out at the same time as him. We were going to a dessert shop.
‘He dashed out and put the note on the front of the ambulance and ran back inside.
‘We didn’t realise what it said at the time but thought it might be something bad. It’s not good to leave a note like that.’
John Hagans, nurse consultant Livingstone House, a charity and rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol addicts, told how the organisation was left ‘disgusted’ by the note.
Mr Hagans said: ‘We are completely disgusted by the note. Words fail me. This person deserves to be shamed.
‘If the person who wrote it had had any idea of what was going on inside, they would not have dared.
‘The resident collapsed in the home and was vomiting blood and our nurses and the ambulance crew battled extremely hard to save him.’
Mr Hagans said the patient had been at Livingstone for three months and was clean when he died.
He suffered an unrelated medical episode and passed away at Heartlands Hospital on Friday evening.
At the time, West Midlands Ambulance Service, as well as several paramedics, took to social media to express their dismay at the note.
The ambulance service tweeted: ‘Sometimes we just don’t know what to say. This was the note left on an ambulance today.
‘At the time, the crew were helping a man who was extremely unwell after vomiting blood.
‘They took him on blue lights to hospital where he was in a critical condition. #patientscomefirst’
Ms Starkey tweeted: ‘Crew alerted an extremely poorly patient to hospital… minimal on scene time, arrived at hospital to find this note… this patient was TIME-CRITCAL.’
Paramedic Clinical Team Mentor Sam Grimson wrote: ‘One of our crews encountered this delightful note after assisting a patient suffering a major internal bleed! The crew were not on scene long due to how poorly the patient was.
‘We always try to park appropriately but sometimes it is not possible.’