Paramedic fired by Shared Health, disciplined by regulator after refusing emergency call

A paramedic in West St. Paul, who refused to attend an emergency call at a nearby long-term care facility at the end of his shift, was fired by Shared Health and reprimanded by the profession’s regulator.

Matthew Chorney, who was 39 as of December and had been a paramedic for 16 years, was found guilty in the fall by the College of Paramedics of Manitoba of failing to respond to the call for the 85-year-old patient in 2023 and failing to co-operate with the college’s investigation.

“The panel views Mr. Chorney’s misconduct as unjustifiable, serious and disturbing,” says the final decision, issued in December but recently made public.

On March 23, 2023, Chorney was partnered with another paramedic in a unit out of the West St. Paul emergency medical services station on Grassmere Road, working a 12-hour shift from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., an earlier disciplinary document says.

Chorney and his partner, who had returned to the station from a prior emergency call at about 7:30 p.m., were asked by dispatchers shortly after 7:50 p.m. if they could attend a 911 call at the nearby Middlechurch Home, which is a two- or three-minute drive from the station.

The call indicated the patient, an 85-year-old woman, was believed to have a partial obstruction in her airway and that she was decreasing in consciousness. The call came in as a priority 1, meaning there was an “imminent threat to the life of the patient,” the college says.

Chorney’s partner told the dispatcher they were available, but at 7:53 p.m., Chorney “acknowledged the details of the call” but unilaterally declined to take it, the decision says.

He told the dispatcher, without discussing it with his partner, that they would not be starting another call at the end of his shift, says the college.

The dispatcher was forced to send paramedics from Selkirk to the call and it took about 19 minutes for them to arrive to the nursing home.

The Selkirk paramedics found the patient, who appeared to have aspirated on saliva or vomit, in respiratory distress with low oxygen levels. They treated her and her condition improved as she was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Shared Health, the provincial health agency responsible for rural emergency response services, investigated the incident and put Chorney on paid leave.

During that investigation, Chorney claimed he called his on-call supervisor at the time to initiate fatigue policy — done when a paramedic is too fatigued to take a call — but Shared Health found no evidence he had actually done so.

Shared Health found he failed to attend the call, failed to comply with policies and procedures, failed to recognize a patient’s life was at risk and misled the investigation.

Shared Health found, if fatigued, he was still obligated to call his supervisor and help determine the best course to take to make sure the patient was safe.

Shared Health fired Chorney in May 2023 and the regulatory college’s investigation and disciplinary proceedings began.

Chorney’s lawyer, Mark Wasyliw, said during disciplinary proceedings his client thought he was acting in the patient’s best interest, that he thought he was exhausted and that he didn’t know the seriousness of the call.

The lawyer said Chorney was going through domestic issues and suffering from insomnia, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety at the time.

“He stated that in Mr. Chorney’s mind, he thought he could not attend the call,” reads the decision. “Mr. Wasyliw submitted that Mr. Chorney did not handle ‘his condition properly.’”

Wasyliw also said Chorney had communicated with the college during the investigation, but did not put it in writing.

Chorney let his certificate of practice lapse and plans to retire from the profession, but the regulatory college ordered his registration as a paramedic be suspended for three months, the college decision says.

Chorney was also ordered to complete training and assessment programs.

The disciplinary decision also ordered that his registration would remain suspended until the college’s registrar is satisfied.

Chorney was ordered to pay $25,000 in costs for the investigation and hearing into his misconduct.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca