Three Birmingham Airport passengers have died since 24-hour paramedic service was axed

Feb 20 2011 by Adam Aspinall, Sunday Mercury

THREE Birmingham airport passengers have died since its dedicated 24 hour paramedic service was controversially axed to save cash last year.

The Sunday Mercury revealed that a male passenger, who has not been named, died before boarding a plane on Saturday, February 12, last week.

The man, in his 20s, collapsed at the gate in Terminal 2.

He was given first aid by trained airport staff but he died later in hospital.

It is believed he is the third air passenger to have died since the airport scrapped their contract with West Midlands Ambulance Service to supply round the clock paramedics.

Previously a passenger on an in-bound flight died after paramedics met him at the terminal and transferred them to hospital and another man passed away after suffering from a heart attack at the airport.

The controversial move to axe the paramedic service was said to have saved the airport £200,000 a year, but it sparked safety fears from concerned employees warning that it could result in deaths.

A spokesman for Birmingham Airport rebuffed fears that the decision to axe paramedics had caused an increase in deaths.

He said that out that only two of the three dead passengers were treated by trained first aiders at the airport and all three died in hospital.

But one concerned member of staff, who was at the scene of last week’s death, but does not wish to be named, said: “The moment they cut the paramedic service alarm bells began to ring.

“Nobody cares about the management’s justification for the move. What matters here is people’s safety.

“Having the paramedics on site cost approximately £200,000 a year while having the Chief Executive on site costs a whole lot more.