Ambulance service probes call allegation

East Midlands Ambulance Service trust has launched an investigation into allegations that its chief executive, Adrian Chubb, told one of his paramedic crews to ignore a 999 call from a persistent caller.

Mr Chubb, who took over the running of the trust in May last year, was last week suspended on full pay - believed to be£74,000-a-year.

Though no formal announcement has been made, the investigation is expected to be carried out by another ambulance trust and to last around two weeks.

Mr Chubb, the former chief executive of Nottingham Community Health trust is understood to have been travelling on duty with one of his paramedic crews in Leicester in order to find out more about its work.

The trust has not confirmed any details, but it is understood that the team had responded to a 999 call and treated a patient.

The patient is then said to have made further calls which were put through to the ambulance by the control room. At this point, it is claimed, Mr Chubb told the control room he was standing the crew down.

Trust chair Bob Waterton said the investigation had been launched because 'normal protocols' for responding to an emergency call did not appear to have been followed.

'We take our responsibilities very seriously, and I have asked for an investigation to be carried out in accordance with the normal procedures, ' he added.

Trust director of operations Paul Phillips will take over as acting chief executive until a decision has been made on Mr Chubb's future.

One member of staff at the trust, who asked not to be named, said staff were angered by Mr Chubb's behaviour and 'abrasive' working style. He said that since Mr Chubb's appointment, the board had become increasingly 'brutal and intimidating' to the extent that staff were afraid to speak out.

A Trent region spokesperson said it was alerted to the incident in February and had asked the trust chair to carry out an inquiry.