Duty Of Care Owed By Ambulance Officers To Those Refusing Treatment

The duty of care owed by ambulance officers to persons refusing medical treatment was recently examined by the New South Wales Court of Appeal in the case of Neal v Ambulance Service of New South Wales [2008] NSWCA 346.

Background

In the early morning of 28 July 2001, Mr Neal was discovered by Police lying across a driveway in the streets of Hamilton, near Newcastle. Police observed that he was intoxicated and had suffered a head injury, so they called the Ambulance Service to the scene.

Mr Neal refused assistance from the Ambulance Service and failed to provide the Police with his address. Consequently, Police took him into custody. By mid-morning, Mr Neal's condition had deteriorated drastically and he was taken to the Mater Hospital.