A paramedic who mocked an overweight patient by telling her she enjoyed eating "chips, chips and more chips" has been removed from the medical register.
Matthew Goodey, who worked as an emergency care practitioner at a GP surgery in Eye, Suffolk, made the offensive remarks during a telephone consultation in July 2020.
The Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service determined that he had bullied the woman, referred to only as Service User F, along with other patients.
During the call, the patient had contacted the surgery seeking advice about problems with her leg and foot.
Rather than addressing her medical concerns directly, Mr Goodey questioned the woman about her weight and made a series of demeaning comments.
He labelled her a "big girl" and remarked: "I bet you were always told to finish your plate."
The paramedic also suggested that someone could transport her using a sack barrow.
During the consultation, he told the patient: "You don't want to be sitting there in a chair with your feet up eating chips, chips and more chips."
Matthew Goodey mocked a woman's weight during a phone consultation in 2020
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The tribunal heard Mr Goodey admitted to making these remarks to the woman.
The woman lodged a formal complaint with the surgery the following day.
She explained that she suffered from depression and that Mr Goodey's remarks had prevented her from properly focusing on the remainder of the medical consultation.
His conduct prompted a second complaint from a different patient several months later, in November 2020.
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Mr Goodey faced several complaints for his conduct
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By March 2023, Mr Goodey faced suspension and was subsequently dismissed from his position due to a separate matter.
The tribunal panel confirmed that the charges against him regarding Service User F had been proven, with Mr Goodey himself having acknowledged the facts of the allegations concerning his weight-related comments.
The tribunal panel concluded that Mr Goodey's comments were "on their face, inappropriate and offensive".
They also said they were entirely unsuitable within the context of a clinical consultation between a healthcare professional and a patient.
They ruled that the manner in which Mr Goodey approached the subject with Service User F was unacceptable.
The panel did acknowledge that discussing weight management could be clinically legitimate when a patient seeks advice about leg and foot pain.
However, his handling necessitated his removal from the medical register.
The panel additionally determined that the paramedic had behaved inappropriately in his interactions with other patients beyond Service User F.