Suffolk paramedic Matthew Goodey struck off after suggesting that overweight patient liked ‘chips, chips and more chips’

A paramedic who subjected an overweight patient to a barrage of cruel and derogatory comments, including suggesting he liked “chips, chips and more chips”, has been sacked.

Matthew Goodey, from the GP practice, criticized the woman for her weight, called her a “big girl” and suggested someone push her with a sack trolley.

He also told the patient: “I’m sure you’ve always been told to finish your plate.”

The incidents occurred during a telephone conversation in July 2020, when Mr Goodey was working as an urgent care practitioner in Eye, Suffolk.

The patient, identified only as Service User F, expressed concerns about his leg and foot, prompting Mr Goodey to ask him about his weight.

He also said, “I bet you come from a home where you’re always told to finish your plate” and “you don’t want to sit there in a chair with your feet up eating chips, chips, and more chips.”

A panel found that Mr Goodey had bullied not only Service User F but also other patients, leading to his removal from the medical record. The name of the general practice where he worked was not disclosed.

Service User F complained to the practice the day after the call.

He said he was depressed and the comments left him “surprised and subsequently prevented from concentrating on the rest of the conversation.”

Mr. Goodey received a second complaint in November 2020.

This came after meeting a patient, identified only as Service User D, who admitted to the specialist that she had started smoking to stop herself harming herself.

Mr Goodey then told the young woman that “self-harming won’t kill you, but smoking will,” and the woman went in tears to her stepmother, who was waiting outside.

Service User D said the incident was “quite a trigger for him to harm himself”.

The paramedic had met him before and knew the state of his mental health.

The stepmother immediately complained to the GP practice’s reception and subsequently made a formal complaint, but was told Mr Goodey would only be given a verbal warning.

He felt “frustrated” that the surgery continued to allow him to work.

Almost a year later, in September 2021, another patient complained about Mr. Goodey’s behavior.

Service User F, a 14-year-old girl who came with her mother, complained that she had difficulty breathing while swimming.

He told the paramedic that they had tried some options but wanted to look into the issue further.

Mr Goodey looked “rash and arrogant” and said to the girl: “Wait, do you have trouble breathing when you swim? Wait, do you have trouble breathing when you swim fast at a competitive level?”

She laughed sarcastically and seeing that Service User F was distressed, her mother decided to end the appointment early.

She filed a complaint the next day and said afterward she felt her daughter “shouldn’t talk about her concerns or worries.”

Service User F was later diagnosed with an eating disorder.

In March 2023, Mr. Goodey was suspended and dismissed for a separate concern.

Now the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service has removed him from the medical register.

The panel said: “The Panel, in consultation with Service User F, has established that: [Goodey] He made a number of comments regarding Service User F’s weight.”[Goodey] he admitted the facts of this accusation.

“The panel was of the opinion that these comments were apparently inappropriate and offensive.

“These were clearly inappropriate in the context of a clinical consultation between a healthcare professional and service user.

“Whilst it would be clinically legitimate for a service user seeking advice about leg and foot pain to discuss issues related to weight management, [Goodey] “It was unacceptable for him to do this when speaking to Service User F.”

The board also found that Mr. Goodey acted inappropriately in his comments to other patients.