Paramedic declared woman dead while her heart was still beating because he didn’t want to perform CPR on ground that had bird poo on it

A paramedic pronounced a 70-year-old woman dead despite her heart still beating because he would not perform CPR on muddy ground littered with bird droppings, a tribunal has heard.

Rick Clark was one of four paramedics called to Lake Victoria in Maryborough, Victoria, in 2020 when the woman collapsed on a bench. Melbourne city news reported.

Mr Clarke told colleagues he “didn’t really think it was worth it” to start CPR, according to documents lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

One of his colleagues responded that it “didn’t feel right” not to try to save the woman, but an internal investigation found that Mr Clark had told a doctor there was “consensus” not to attempt CPR.

“The consensus was to cancel this because we weren’t going to start CPR,” Mr Clark said, before telling a radio station he had to cancel other crews en route.

The paramedic said he also decided against resuscitation because the woman was overweight and there was bird droppings on the nearby ground, the tribunal heard.

The tribunal was also told that Mr Clark later told investigators he had no regrets for his actions and would do the same again in similar circumstances.

Lawyers for the Paramedicine Board of Australia said Clark had a “lack of remorse” and knew his actions would lead to the woman’s death.

Mr Clark’s lawyers argued that the other paramedics on the scene that day were also partly to blame, adding that he now ‘accepts his role in the outcome’.

The paramedic was suspended shortly after the woman’s death and had stopped working in healthcare.

The tribunal banned him from being registered as a paramedic for five years. He is also prohibited from providing healthcare, including first aid, for the same period of time.

No inquest was held into the woman’s death.