Ohio ambulance driver leaves patient during hospital trip and takes Uber home

A private ambulance driver in Ohio abandoned a patient during a journey to hospital last week after getting lost, then called an Uber to go home. The patient was being taken to the Cleveland Clinic with chest pain when the incident occurred in Cleveland, according to the account reported by local broadcaster KWTX.

The broadcaster reported that the driver told the patient he had finished driving for the day before arranging his ride home. He worked for Lynx EMS, a private ambulance company. He was not an employee of Cleveland Emergency Medical Services, whose responders subsequently went to the scene to help the patient and complete the hospital transfer.

The Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees, known as Care Local 1975, said a Cleveland EMS unit responded after the private ambulance driver left. Its crew provided care at the scene and then transported the patient to hospital, taking over the journey that had been interrupted when the driver abandoned it.

In a statement addressing the incident, the association stressed the distinction between the private provider involved in the original transport and the municipal ambulance service that responded afterward. It said the ambulance from which the driver departed did not belong to Cleveland EMS, and identified the person who left as a provider working aboard a private ambulance.

Lynx EMS responded to the incident in a statement to local media that was reported by KWTX. A company spokesperson said steps had been taken immediately after the company learned what had happened, with the aim of addressing the situation and ensuring that the patient's wellbeing and care needs were attended to.

The company also said it was still examining the circumstances of the incident. It said any appropriate action would be determined by the findings of that review. The statement did not set out what those findings might be, instead describing a review that remained under way.

Lynx EMS declined to provide further comment, citing the involvement of both personnel and patient matters. Its response focused on the steps taken after it became aware of the incident and its continuing review, while the rescue employees association's account described how Cleveland EMS provided care and completed the patient's transport.