Lauri Kriisa, 40, said he had no recollection of taking any drugs (Picture: Cavendish Press)
A doctor who groped a paramedic and licked her neck as she treated him for a suspected drug overdose should keep his job, a tribunal has ruled.
A panel heard Lauri Kriisa, 40, grabbed the paramedic’s chest, buttocks and groin area as she helped him out of a house in Hartlepool where he had taken GHB, Viagra and alcohol with a man he met through a dating app.
The ambulance’s CCTV footage showed him later repeatedly trying to grab her rear.
The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service concluded he was too intoxicated to know what he was doing after the paramedic described his behaviour as ‘trance-like’ and lacking any awareness of his actions.
In a statement, the paramedic for the North East Ambulance Service told the tribunal: ‘His behaviour became sexual, he was grabbing me and pulling me into the bed.
‘He was licking up my neck and trying to kiss me. He grabbed in between my legs and pulled me towards him.
‘I raised my voice to tell him to stop, he seemed to listen initially but was still grabbing and pulling me towards him.
‘Dr Kriisa didn’t verbalise anything apart from the “ooh ooh” noises. He did not appear coherent; his eyes were glazed.
Dr Kriisa had been at the home of a man he met through a dating app (Picture: Cavendish Press)
‘He didn’t appear shocked that paramedics were in this bedroom and I’m not sure he was aware of what he was doing, I think he thought we were there for a sex party.’
The paramedic said Dr Krissa didn’t seem to be ‘acting in his right mind’, adding: ‘I feel the drugs taken were causing the sexual behaviour and that he was not aware who I was or what his intentions were under the influence of the drugs.
‘He wasn’t speaking but gesturing with his mouth with strange noises, smiling and his eyes were glazed but fixed on me in a sort of trance-like state.
‘I felt slightly violated, felt dirty and just wanted to go home and scrub myself. I had been dragged into a bed where sexual activity had recently taken place and I just wanted to go home.’
The doctor had travelled from his home in Stockton and stayed with his date for 12 hours until the ambulance was called at about 3pm.
A disciplinary panel concluded he was too intoxicated to realise what he was doing (Picture: Cavendish Press)
He later insisted he had no recollection of the incident, and that his last memory was of drinking and watching YouTube with the man.
He said he had no memory of drugs being present but admitted he must have taken some.
Dr Kriisa, originally from Estonia, had been due to work later that day on a night shift and had not arranged for a colleague to cover for him.
After the December hearing, the tribunal bench said: ‘Given the evidence that Dr Kriisa remained heavily intoxicated and repeatedly lost consciousness, it is unlikely that during the times he was conscious and acting in a sexual way he was aware of his actions.’
It also pointed out that Dr Kriisa’s record was unblemished up until the incident on August 17, 2018.
The consultant anaesthetist moved to the UK from Estonia in 2010 and had an unblemished record (Picture: Cavendish Press)
‘Moreover, at this time Dr Kriisa is working on the frontline within the NHS whilst the country is experiencing the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
‘There is a need to balance the public interest in terms of both marking the seriousness of Dr Kriisa’s actions whilst not depriving the NHS and patients of a competent doctor, particularly at this time.
A spokesperson from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘As soon as the trust became aware of this incident, an investigation was held internally and the matter was raised with the General Medical Council.’
‘We are very sorry for the distress this incident has caused to the paramedic concerned – our staff are held to the highest standards of professionalism and this behaviour was completely unacceptable.’
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We do not tolerate any form of assaults or abuse that our staff experience in the line of their work. These can have a serious impact on their health and wellbeing and the service that we provide to patients in need.’
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