A former paramedic who told a seriously ill patient that 'Jesus and Jehovah are not coming to help you' and refused to help her as the stroke victim struggled downstairs has been struck off following a professional misconduct hearing.
Rachel Claire Lemonofides was dismissed by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust in July 2024 after making dozens of derogatory remarks during an emergency call in January that year. The British Army reservist was found by a tribunal to have demonstrated serious professional misconduct during the shocking incident.
The incident began when the patient called for help after developing severe pain while preparing for work on 11 January 2024. She was later diagnosed with a blood clot on the brain that caused a stroke, while her aorta had ruptured. She was reportedly given a 50 per cent chance of surviving emergency heart surgery.
Stroke Victim Left to Struggle Downstairs
The ambulance crew spent nearly two hours at the address before taking the patient to hospital. The patient described the pain she experienced as severe and excruciating. Despite her condition, the tribunal found on the balance of probabilities that Lemonofides failed to recognise its seriousness.
The tribunal heard that the paramedic refused to help the patient stand or descend the stairs, despite the woman experiencing pain in her back, throat and chest, as well as numbness in her right leg.
One of the patient's housemates told the tribunal she saw the woman reach out to Lemonofides and ask for help. According to witness evidence, the paramedic physically moved away and refused to help her, saying, 'I'm not going to help you.'
Paramedic Mocked Stroke Victim During Emergency Call
The tribunal ruled that the comments alleged against Lemonofides in the disciplinary schedule had been proved on the balance of probabilities.
Among them, Lemonofides accused the patient of 'absolutely ridiculous' behaviour and told the woman she was acting as though she had 'had her leg ripped off.'
As the seriously ill woman struggled, the paramedic told her, 'Jesus and Jehovah are not coming to help you.' She also dismissed the medical crisis by saying, 'You are not dying, you have got a bad back.' The paramedic even told the patient she should be assessed by the mental health team.
Lemonofides repeatedly infantilised the woman. Remarks included 'You are acting ridiculous now' and 'This is like a child now.' She also told the patient, 'You are stuck on the floor like a child,' and added, 'This is a bit like silly behaviour now.'
The paramedic went on to say, 'We are not helping you like this, you are being silly,' and then stated, 'I am really mad now because people are waiting for this ambulance and you are acting like a child.'
Threats to Tell Employer About 'Ridiculous' Behaviour
Lemonofides demanded that the woman stop what she was doing and ordered her to go downstairs. The paramedic told the patient, 'You are lying, stop what you are doing, stop being a baby, let's go downstairs.' She also threatened to contact the woman's employer about her behaviour.
Lemonofides told her, 'I should let your employer know how you are behaving given the fact that you work with vulnerable people.'
She also compared the patient's pain with childbirth, telling her: 'You have gone through child labour which is worse than this pain.'
Lemonofides later told the patient, 'We can't take you to the hospital because your condition is not that serious.' She gave the woman a countdown, stating: 'You have 60 seconds to get up or we are leaving.'
The tribunal later stressed that Lemonofides could not reasonably have been expected to diagnose the patient's unusual eventual condition at the scene.
However, it found that her leg numbness, low blood pressure and chest pain provided sufficient warning that she was seriously ill and required urgent hospital investigation and treatment.
Tribunal Finds Remarks Discriminatory Based on Ethnicity
The tribunal also found Lemonofides' conduct discriminatory on grounds of ethnicity and racially motivated. Lemonofides admitted making the comments alleged in the first particular of the case, but denied in July 2025 that her remarks were discriminatory or racially motivated. She did not attend the final hearing.
The panel considered audio recordings of the incident. When the patient cried out in her native language, Lemonofides could be heard making comments including 'stop with this nonsense.'
The tribunal found this may have been in response to the patient speaking in her native language and therefore could suggest hostility towards her ethnicity. Recordings also captured the patient repeatedly crying out in apparent pain, while Lemonofides was heard telling her to 'shut up.'
To evaluate the discriminatory nature of the conduct, the tribunal heard evidence from a colleague regarding other emergency calls Lemonofides attended on the same day. The colleague confirmed that two other calls involved white female patients and that Lemonofides did not treat either woman in the same manner.
The panel ruled on the balance of probabilities that Lemonofides treated the patient less favourably because of her ethnicity. It also concluded that she appeared to have a bias towards the patient's ethnicity, whether conscious or unconscious.
Shocking Comments Made to an Ambulance Colleague
The derogatory remarks were not exclusively directed at the patient. Lemonofides also made a series of comments about her to a colleague during the incident. She said, 'I do not think this is medical, she is choosing to do this.' She also stated, 'I can't believe someone with a child is behaving like this.'
Most notably, the paramedic asked her colleague, 'Does she believe in black magic or anything like that?' The tribunal heard that four witnesses were shocked by comments about 'black magic' and the patient acting as though she were 'possessed'.
The panel found the comments about black magic and possession were made for a purpose and that the purpose was to refer to the patient's race. It further found that the conduct demonstrated hostility or a discriminatory attitude towards the relevant racial group.
A further allegation concerned a comment Lemonofides made after the incident. She was accused of telling a colleague, 'If it had been filmed, you would watch it back and laugh at it.' The panel found the allegation proven on the balance of probabilities.
Her colleague was so shocked by Lemonofides' behaviour that she reported the incident to her employer two days later. A relative of the patient subsequently submitted a written complaint. Lemonofides was restricted from working on 5 March 2024 and dismissed by the ambulance service on 11 July 2024.
Paramedic Struck Off After Shocking Incident
After finding the comments amounted to racially motivated discrimination, the tribunal ruled that her conduct constituted serious professional misconduct and breached professional boundaries.
The panel acknowledged that some patients require an assertive manner. However, considering the evidence, the tone of the comments and her treatment of the patient, it described aspects of her conduct as 'abhorrent'.
The tribunal also considered the physical and psychological harm caused to the patient, the potential damage to public confidence in paramedics, Lemonofides' lack of insight or remediation and her failure to engage with the fitness-to-practise hearing among the aggravating factors. It ultimately ordered that her name be removed from the HCPC register.
A spokesman for North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust said Lemonofides no longer worked for the organisation, adding that all patients were entitled to be treated with dignity and respect and that there was no place within the trust for colleagues who failed to uphold those values.
The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service confirmed that Lemonofides was struck off on 14 August 2026. Lemonofides also reportedly holds the rank of staff sergeant in the British Army.
An Army spokesman said it had duties under common law and the Data Protection Act to protect employees' and former employees' personal information and would therefore not release information relating to the case.
