'Spiked' paramedic duped into taking puff of vape was 'paralysed in one minute'
A paramedic was left fitting and unable to move any part of her body after she was allegedly 'duped' into having a puff on a stranger's vape at a music festival.
Chloe Hammerton, 26, who works for South Central Ambulance Service, collapsed and fell unconscious as her girlfriend Natasha Ward screamed in terror at the Isle of Wight Festival last weekend.
Natasha said the man had allegedly approached Chloe and encouraged her to try his vape while the couple queued to buy food at the event.
But 'within a minute' of trying the vape, Chloe was reportedly left passing in and out of consciousness, unable to speak or move any part of her body, and was suffering fits as her pupils constricted to 'pinpoints'.
Her girlfriend described how she was left begging and screaming for help as Chloe lay on the floor "terrified and unconscious".
Girlfriend Natasha said she was 'begging' and 'screaming for help' as Chloe laid on the floor (Facebook) Posting online about the incident, Natasha said: "Saturday into Sunday was truly one of the worst 24 hours of my life due to someone spiking/drugging, and nearly killing, my girlfriend at the Isle of Wight festival on Saturday afternoon/evening.
"Chloe doesn't vape or smoke, and has never done drugs in her life, but was duped into taking a puff in this situation.
"Within a minute, she was in and out of consciousness, unable to speak or move any part of her body and fitting with her pupils constricting to pinpoints and then dilating to 7's."
Harry Cobden says winning Cheltenham ride on Il Ridoto did not deserve ban
Natasha has since hit out at the reactions of festival staff, saying "we would be in a totally different situation" if it wasn't for the help given by "an incredible nurse in the crowd" named Rachel and her student nurse sister-in-law Sophie.
She says they were left waiting "over an hour" for any medical response from the welfare team, and had to plead with them repeatedly to get help for Chloe.
The girlfriend added: "We even had to shout at security to move fences to give some privacy because all any of the staff did was sit and stare and cause more problems, saying help was on its way when it wasn't."
Police confirmed they were investigating the incident on Wednesday. A spokesperson said the force is in contact with a 26-year-old woman and "will be carrying out drugs testing to help further the investigation."
Festival organisers meanwhile insist staff dealt with the situation quickly and professionally.
A festival spokesperson said: "We operate a zero-tolerance policy for anyone attempting to bring drugs to the festival and have robust systems in place to deal with anyone who attempts to do so.
"This was an isolated incident dealt with quickly and professionally by all teams on site and no further reports of this nature have been recorded.
"Our event medical team employs a wide range of appropriately qualified healthcare professionals. These fully-trained individuals work 24 hours a day across our medical facilities on site.
"Regarding the incident reported on social media, we are confident the team dealt with it in a timely manner, with an appropriate medical practitioner on site within five minutes and the patient's condition assessed as non-life-threatening and subsequently transported to the on site hospital."
They added that the "safety and wellbeing of attendees is our utmost priority" and "alongside our partners in the police, security and medical teams, we work incredibly hard over the festival weekend to ensure everyone is looked after."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
