The St. John ambulance apologized to a female patient and disciplined a paramedic who told her that she had a laryngitis and had not drank enough water when she actually had pneumonia.

An internal investigation also revealed that the employee had made inappropriate comments about the concerned mother of the woman, who had rendered the ambulance service extremely unprofessional, offensive and unjustified. has named.

The Herald has agreed not to mention the woman, now 29, or her mother.

Two Orthopedagogues in St. John were called to the woman's home in East Auckland in July 2017 after her mother called 111 and said her daughter was having trouble breathing.

The woman told it Herald the male paramedic told her that she had "done this herself because she had not drunk enough water" after she said she did not like water.

"I was very upset, I got the feeling that I was wasting his time and that I myself or my symptoms did not matter, apparently I was just plain dramatic," said the woman.

Her mother told it Herald the male paramedic diagnosed her daughter with a laryngitis and commented that "there were already 600 patients in Middlemore ED, just like her".

The mother said she was shocked when she really feared the life of her daughter at that moment.

I could see that she was terrified and he … would not help her, & # 39; said the mother.

"My daughter told me that when I was in the ambulance [the male paramedic] told his partner that they should have treated the mother and pointed to his head and pointed out that I was out of the question. & # 39;

The woman was diagnosed with pneumonia when she was in hospital and unwell for several months.

Her mother lodged a complaint with St John.

In an email obtained by the Herald, St John referred to his inquiry into the complaint, finding that the woman had not been fully and thoroughly assessed before being taken to the hospital.

District manager of the Dan-Counties, Glenn Metcalfe, said that the male paramedic "may have tried to pass on a message about Middlemore that he is very busy" when he made the comment.

Metcalfe said there was evidence that the paramedic had made a comment about the woman's mother, who described the remarks as "extremely unprofessional, abusive, and unjustified."

Concerning the remark about water, Metcalfe said that there was no evidence that the woman was dehydrated, making the comment superfluous.

A second assessment of the case of the woman was carried out by the head of Patient Safety and Quality, who felt that the male paramedic had made incorrect remarks.

Sint-Jan acknowledged that during the complete review of the complaint "a number of shortcomings" came to light in the service to the woman, saying that disciplinary measures would be taken.

In a statement to the HeraldMetcalfe, now operational manager of the Auckland District, said: "While the ambulance employee remains in service with St. John, he has completed a performance improvement plan (PIP) and both the ambulance officer and St. John have apologized to the patient and their families repeat our apology. "

The woman said that the ordeal meant she had lost all faith in Saint John. She believes that the male paramedic should have lost his job.

"What if I had listened to him and stayed home after his wrong diagnosis? I'm not sure if I would be here today to tell this story."