Stolen ambulance kit offered on eBay

Stolen ambulance equipment is being sold on internet auction site eBay.

The haul includes paramedics' uniforms, resuscitation kits, stretchers and dressings.

There are also defibrillators, which restart a patient's heart with an electric shock and could be lethal in the wrong hands.

Uniforms could also be misused if bought by people who then pose as genuine paramedics.

The NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) has had 15 reports of ambulance equipment appearing for sale on the popular website.

Some paramedics and ambulance service staff have been either prosecuted or disciplined and investigations are being held into the alleged theft of property from the Kent, Essex and London ambulance services. The CFSMS has an agreement with eBay to identify and investigate any items posted for sale which could have been stolen from the NHS, but some of the items for sale could have been obtained legitimately.

A former London Ambulance Service (LAS) worker told the Standard: "Any ambulance equipment on eBay is highly unlikely to be legitimate.

"The service is very careful about how it disposes of old equipment. I have seen LAS uniforms on eBay and people have been caught as impostors.

"It must be costing the NHS millions-Often people leaving the service are not asked for their uniforms or ID badges back, so they think they will sell them to make a few quid."

Brighton paramedic Michael Crockford admitted stealing equipment from his ambulance and selling it on an auction website.

He was sentenced to 100 hours' community service in May last year after taking equipment including resuscitation packs and neck collars.

Crockford, who was discovered by another paramedic, resigned from

the Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Uniforms and equipment used by bona fide paramedics and technicians are bought by the NHS and issued to staff. If they appear on the internet they can sometimes be tracked back to the NHS through identification marks.

However, similar items are freely available to the public or workers in related fields, such as St John Ambulance and private paramedics.

Mike Dinan, director of finance for LAS, said: "We don't want to see clinical equipment being used by people who have not been trained.

"When we discover that stolen London Ambulance Service property is being sold on the site, we investigate this with our counter-fraud specialists and the police as appropriate."

A spokesman for eBay said: " We strongly support law enforcement to prevent the sale of illegal items and urge the prosecution of those responsible for knowingly attempting to sell such items on eBay."