A paramedic who abandoned patients in an ambulance while he went shopping and had a hair cut has been found guilty of misconduct at a health tribunal . Dominic Colella , who has resigned from the London Ambulance Service , twice 'held his colleagues to ransom ' by forcing them to wait until his return before they could be driven to hospital . The Health and Care Professions Council ( HCPC ) sitting at a hearing in Kennington , south London , today ruled he was guilty of misconduct relating to two incidents in March 2013 and he was struck off the medical register . Dominic Colella , who was not present at the hearing , was found guilty of two counts of misconduct while working with the London Ambulance Service . In the first incident , an 85-year-old man who collapsed in the queue in a Marks and Spencer store from severe blood poisoning was forced to wait for 20 minutes in the back of an ambulance . Colella , who failed to turn up at the hearing , had returned to the store and came back with two full bags of shopping before driving him to hospital on March 9 , 2013 . The tribunal heard Colella 's colleague , who was left to care for the elderly man alone , was questioned by the patient 's 'anxious ' wife about why her husband had not been taken to hospital . Yvonne Purves said : 'After a little bit of time I wondered where [ Colella ] had gone . 'The wife was understandably anxious about what had happened to her husband and was wondering why we were n't leaving to go to hospital . 'He then came back with two full bags of shopping and loaded them in to the front of the ambulance and flippantly said 'do you want to go to hospital then ? ' . 'Obviously , I wanted to go to hospital some time ago . I waited 20 minutes for Colella while alone in the ambulance . ' The panel heard how Colella left a patient in an ambulance with a colleague for 20 minutes while he did some shopping in a Marks and Spencer ( file picture ) Just two weeks later , while responding to another potentially life-threatening 999 call , he delayed a 40-year-old patient with a head injury from being taken to hospital and left him in the care of a more junior practitioner so he could have his hair cut . Colella admitted abandoning his colleagues and patients , but the panel said his failure to turn up to the hearing meant they could not know if he appreciated the seriousness of his actions , meaning there was a 'risk of repetition ' . Paramedic Donna Blair , who had arrived at the scene first , said she was handing over care of the patient to Colella 's colleague when she noticed a nearby shopper looking 'gobsmacked ' . She told the panel : ' I looked to my left and saw Dominic sitting at the hairdresser 's chair with a lady putting a cape around his neck . ' She told the hearing she had thought he was 'just having a joke ' when he earlier asked her whether she fancied a haircut , and added that he could do with a trim himself . The panel heard that he delayed the ambulance leaving for hospital by between five and ten minutes . Chairman of the panel , Gillian Fleming , said members of the public would be 'shocked ' to know a paramedic could show such disregard for his patients saying his 'fitness to practise was impaired ' . Ms Fleming added that they do not know if Colella , who joined the London Ambulance Service in 1996 , has since continued to work as a paramedic . Ms Fleming said today : 'Whilst it appears no harm was caused , the potential impact of the registrant 's actions could have had serious consequences for the patients . 'The registrant 's actions may indicate an attitudinal problem which he appears to have taken no real steps to address . 'There 's no evidence to suggest his behaviour has changed . ' Ms Fleming said Colella would be struck off the HCPC register with immediate effect , adding : 'The registrant has shown little in the way of insight or remorse . 'The panel considers that a striking off order is the only appropriate and proportionate order in this case . '
Dominic Colella twice 'held his colleagues to ransom ' by making them wait . Health panel ruled he was guilty in relation to two incidents in March 2013 . In first an 85-year-old man had to wait 20 minutes before going to hospital . Second occasion man , 40 , waited in ambulance while Colella had a hair cut . Chairman Gillian Fleming said members of the public would be 'shocked ' Panel has ruled that Colella will be struck off HCPC register immediately .