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Paramedic who stood by as man died of heart attack at Walsall Manor Hospital faces new job threat

A paramedic who failed to act as a man lay dying outside hospital once again faces the threat of being struck off nearly five years after it happened.

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Matthew Geary, from Great Wyrley, was spared jail and given an eight month prison sentence suspended for two years for his part in the incident on June 23, 2012, which led to the death of Carl Cope. He was then given a reprieve by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in January this year, after a disciplinary panel ruled he could continue working under a two-year supervision.

Carl Cope

But now that decision has been contested and Mr Geary will be hauled before the same panel again in January for a two day hearing – once again facing the prospect of losing his job.

A HCPC spokeswoman said: "The hearing decision for the case of Geary, which took place in January 2016, was appealed by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) to the high court. The case has been remitted back to the same panel for reconsideration of the sanction and will commence on January 7, 2017."

Mr Geary, now 38, had brought Mr Cope, from Parker Street, Bloxwich, to Walsall Manor the day he died but watched from a window as he collapsed from a heart attack.

CCTV also showed the paramedic standing motionless with his hands in his pockets as he looked down on the stricken man. Mr Geary was originally accused of manslaughter but instead a guilty plea of failing to discharge his duty was accepted at Wolverhampton Crown Court in February last year.

When the investigation was launched the paramedic resigned from West Midlands Ambulance Service, where he had served for eight years, but continued to work in the profession elsewhere. In January the HCPC panel declared his fitness to practice impaired but ruled against striking him off.

After the hearing in 2012 Mr Geary's lawyer Simon Hoyle said the paramedic had been relieved it was over and wanted to 'draw a line' under the entire incident.

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