WARNING: This article contains language and content that some readers may find disturbing

As a single mother, Lucy* looked forward to her rare nights out. A few years ago, while having after-work drinks at a local bar, he started feeling unwell. When he collapsed and fainted, a bouncer called an ambulance. Lucy’s drink had been spiked.

There were two paramedics in the ambulance, one female and one male. Still unconscious, Lucy was placed on a stretcher, strapped to the bed, and wheeled towards the hospital.

Lucy’s friends must have breathed a sigh of relief after a terrifying incident. He was safe and cared for. But when the female ambulance driver looked in the rearview mirror to check on Lucy, she says she saw the unimaginable: her male colleague sexually assaulting her patient.

Lucy still doesn’t remember what happened, but she has the police report and crime scene photos of the inside of the ambulance.

Pointing to a photo of where the straps were attached, she says almost matter-of-factly: “He lifted my legs up so my knees were up and put his hand inside my groin area; he probably touched my vagina.”

When he regained consciousness, he was told what had happened. Years later, he still has a hard time digesting it.

The paramedic denied the charges and was found not guilty at trial, but was later dismissed by paramedics’ regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

They have a lower standard of proof than criminal courts and ruled against him, calling him a “serious threat to patient safety.”

To this day, Lucy still didn’t feel safe getting into the ambulance. “It’s so bad, you feel so violated and vulnerable,” she says.

“It’s shocking to think that someone in that position would do that when they should be there to keep an eye on you.”

Her story is horrific, but Lucy is not alone. It forms part of a year-long Sky News investigation into sexual abuse in the ambulance service, which has revealed a culture where abuse and harassment among staff is common and patients are sexualised.

A senior ambulance boss admitted the service had “let down victims” but insisted perpetrators were a “minority”.

Jason Killens, chairman of the Welsh Ambulance Service and Ambulance Managers Association, said he expected a “steady increase” in the number of cases and more paramedics will be sacked for sexually inappropriate behavior in the coming years. The organization is doing it to change the culture.

Data shared with Sky News shows that a fifth of sexual harassment complaints against healthcare professionals made to their regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council, in 2023 were for actions against patients or members of the public.

Paramedics were over-represented in sexual abuse cases, even though less than 1% of all HCPC members had concerns raised against them last year.

These make up just 11% of HCPC records, but they account for 64% of all investigations into sexual harassment against colleagues. Regulator chairwoman Christine Elliot thinks sexual abuse cases are “just the tip of the iceberg”.

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“This is all about patient safety,” he says. “Patients need to know that when they see a practitioner, they can trust that they will give the best behavior and the best care possible.”

‘Completely unnecessary breast examinations’

Cases like Lucy’s are rare, but several whistleblowers at more than one trust have spoken of a culture in which “pranks” or jokes about groping patients were common.

Current and former medics claim to have heard of patients, especially young women, being sexualized by the men who helped treat and even save them.

A former paramedic has revealed the phrase “completely unnecessary breast exams” (or TUBEs) and said he has heard paramedics talking about “TUBEing” young, drunk women. She also alleged that a colleague fondled another colleague’s breasts and told her: “I just TUBE you.”

A second woman confidently described the same phenomenon as “jazz hands.” Both said these were commonly understood phrases referring to colleagues accidentally or intentionally touching a woman’s breast during treatment.

A third caregiver said she had heard colleagues talk about patients in an overtly sexual manner, saying things like “They had nice breasts” or “those were silicone,” while boasting about taking a patient’s number and getting a “good feeling.” .

“This is assault. This is sexual assault,” he says.

‘It’ll be fun. ‘Your career will progress’

“One of my biggest fears was that I wouldn’t be believed because of where I worked. It was the ambulance service and she was the person in charge,” says Ellie*, whose first job was as a call handler in ambulance control.

He loved the camaraderie and the idea that he was making a difference. Until one day, the manager called him to his office and invited him to a conference with him. At first he was flattered and a little confused.

“He said he liked me and then he reached out and touched my leg.” Surprised, Ellie froze. “I was in my early 20s and didn’t know what his intentions were. I was probably a little naive.” As he continued talking, his boss slid his hand “as far as it could go, up my legs.”

Terrified, she jumped up in her chair and asked him what he was doing.

His boss replied, “If you come, we will share the same room. It will be fun. Your career will advance.”

“No” he shouted and ran out of the room in a panic. When she returned to her desk, he continued to receive 999 calls while she kept an eye on him.

She then claims the messages began: “These were photos of her private parts, as well as messages saying she wanted to meet for sex in the car park and kiss me. There were a bunch of very descriptive sexual acts where she said she wanted to do it with me.”

She says the messages continued for “months” despite her begging him to stop. She was afraid to go to work for fear of seeing him and avoided going to the bathroom in case she ran into him in the hallway.

She claims she eventually showed the messages to HR, but they suggested she move to a different office. He would not be punished.

“This was sexual harassment,” says Ellie, torn between anger and despair. “They didn’t do anything. There was no investigation. As far as I know, there was no meeting with him. No statement from me. Nothing. I was the problem.”

He eventually left the service, but claims he still works there to this day, an injustice he says “makes me sick.”

A spokesman for NHS England said new national guidance and training had recently been introduced “to stamp out this appalling behaviour”.

“Any abuse or violence towards NHS staff is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated, and the NHS is committed to tackling unwanted, inappropriate or harmful sexual behavior in the workplace. We have recently launched new national guidance and training to help staff recognize this. We are looking to stamp out this appalling behaviour.” “Report sexual harassment in the workplace and take action,” they said.

‘We let these individuals down… I’m sorry’

Mr Killens, the ambulance chief, says Ellie’s story is simply “not true”.

“We failed these individuals,” he admits, adding “I apologize” to both staff and patients who “were subjected to poor behavior from our public.”

He says work is being done to combat such behavior and states that this is his and his organisation’s top priority.

This will involve rooting out perpetrators, but it will also involve playing a “long game” of changing the culture so that “we can start tackling low-level abuse or inappropriate behavior early, rather than allowing it to get worse,” he says.

According to the HCPC president, cultural change is needed from leadership downwards. Elliot says sexual harassment should be addressed as much of a priority as “waiting times and dilapidated hospitals.”

Read more from this research:
Life as a female paramedic
‘Toxic’ harassment culture revealed

But many of the victims we spoke to say it takes too long for the HCPC to investigate allegations of misconduct (an average of three years).

Elliot admits this isn’t good enough, but says they are taking action to speed things up and would like to see legislative change that would give his organization more power to speed up investigations.

They also created a sexual safety center For both victims and witnesses of inappropriate behavior.

It can be difficult to hear arguments comparing Lucy and Ellie’s stories to a service that the majority of people are dedicated to saving lives.

But it is also clear that abusers and those committing sexually inappropriate behavior have gone unpunished in ambulance services for too long. Some were perhaps protected through devotion or cover-up, many were simply hiding behind the mask of “joke”.

Ambulance and NHS bosses have made clear to Sky News that they are determined to destroy not only serious perpetrators of sexual violence, but also the culture that fosters this behaviour.

But meanwhile Lucy, Ellie and countless other women won’t hear the ambulance siren and feel unsafe, telling us they’ll have difficulty even calling 999 in a medical emergency.

*names have been changed

Illustrations by Rebecca Hendin

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call your local Samaritans branch or call 1 (800) 273-TALK