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Thursday, April 9, 2026

North East Ambulance whistleblower calls for public inquiry - BBC

A whistleblower who exposed claims an ambulance service was covering up details of patient deaths says a proposed review "won't go far enough".

Paul Calvert, a coroner's officer for the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NEAS), wants a full public inquiry into what happened.

On Tuesday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he was considering a new, independent review into the claims.

NEAS apologised for failings and said its system is now "robust".

'Empty rhetoric'

Mr Calvert told the BBC he was offered 41,000 as a "bribe to shut up and go away" when he raised concerns that details of deaths involving mistakes by paramedics were being withheld from coroners and families.

He said the service had a "culture of cover up and bullying" and he felt "pretty disgusted" having been "completely destroyed mentally and physically" since raising concerns three years ago.

He said he spoke out because it was the "right thing" for families, taxpayers and the vast majority of his NEAS colleagues.

"I believe there are a lot of families out there that still don't know what happened to their loved ones and there are people who currently work for NEAS who need to be held to account for their actions," he said.

As first reported in the Sunday Times, concerns were raised by whistleblowers about more than 90 cases from 2018 and 2019.

Mr Javid told the Health and Social Care Committee of MPs that while a review had already been held by NHS England he was "seriously considering" a new study.

Mr...



Read Full Story: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-61737721