“His chest was rising and falling and making noises.”

A resident of Pinellas County, on the west coast of Florida (USA), was. pronounced dead by two paramedics but in reality he was still breathing. This was the finding of a local police officer who went to the home, according to a local media report on Tuesday.

Thomas Maxwell, 66, was cared for while unconscious from cardiac arrest by two local Clearwater paramedics. After a quick assessment, he was pronounced dead, as his daughter, Phoebe, told local WFLA.

“His chest was rising and falling and making noises.so his lungs were working,” the woman said, after explaining that prior to the arrival of the paramedics, she and a friend had performed CPR procedures on her father.

His chest was rising and falling and making noises, so his lungs were functioning

The paramedics who arrived at the home, however, took Maxwwell’s pulse “in a rapid fashion.”in the daughter’s opinion, and pronounced him dead, despite the doubts expressed by the woman.

A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy who later arrived at the home to investigate the death discovered that the man was still breathing and called firefighters from neighboring Largo, who confirmed that Maxwell was alive and immediately transported him to a local hospital.

Apologies

“Upon notification of this incident, we immediately removed both paramedics from their normal duties. and their ability to provide patient care,” said Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers, who added that his office and that of county health officials are investigating the incident.

“We have strict policies and procedures that were not followedbased on our preliminary review. These two did not meet the standard of care our citizens expect and deserve,” added Ehlers, who issued a public apology for the paramedics’ actions.

As of Monday Thomas Maxwell still remained in an intensive care unit, as reported by his daughter, who fears for the long-term effects that her progenitor may suffer due to the inaction of the paramedics. As she revealed to the media outlet, it took 28 minutes from the time her father was attended to by Clearwater equipment until he received first aid from Largo City paramedics.