Taxi Driver Online

999 'Taxi' Staff Lose Job Battle

Three ambulance workers sacked after a 999 crew were diverted to take one of them home from a nightclub have lost their job fight. Margaret Gokce, Denise MacDonald and Margaret Conner were fired for gross misconduct after the Record exposed the "taxi" run.

Emergency control room operator Gokce, 51, of Springburn, Glasgow, was at work when off-duty supervisor Conner, of the city's Scotstoun, called to say MacDonald had taken ill at a Glasgow nightclub.

An ambulance crew found MacDonald, of Bearsden, near Glasgow, drunk and took her home.

During the incident in August2003,the ambulance was delayed in attending a 999 call.

All three women had claimed unfair dismissal.

But the Glasgow tribunal ruled that Conner knew ambulances did not take patients home and Gokce should have reported the request to her manager

Probably a quicker way home than waiting at a Glasgow taxi rank

Correct result IMO

I suppose there are rules about using ambulances for pleasure and personal use. The ambulance staff should have known that. Perhaps this type of behaviour has been going on for quite some time and maybe there is a culture among ambulance staf of using these vehicles for their own personal use when they are not on standby?

Whatever the mitigating circumstances I can see why they were dismissed but perhaps a final warning might have also had the desired effect?

Regards

JD