An emergency doctor was caught stealing money from a 94-year-old woman (4 photos + 1 video)
Category: Interesting photo stories, PEGI 0+
21 March 2024
Unscrupulous people, unfortunately, can be found in every country in the world, and Great Britain is no exception. A video surveillance camera installed in the apartment of an elderly pensioner helped bring to light a dishonest ambulance paramedic. 
Mark Titley, 59, intended to pocket cash from the home of 94-year-old Barbara Drage. Ambulance crews attended to a pensioner who collapsed and died in her garden in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
In the footage, Mark Titley can be seen taking cash from a table in the living room - he went there to look for a do not resuscitate certificate - and then looks up, notices the CCTV camera installed in the room and puts the money back.
The man was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence. A disciplinary hearing was also held and he was suspended from work.
Mark Titley was one of four doctors who responded to the call. The video was presented in court as clear evidence of his guilt. In addition, having learned about the cameras in the house, the accused tried to prevent the relatives of the deceased woman from seeing this recording. According to the testimony of his colleagues, he said that “it would be unpleasant for the family to watch” the last minutes of their loved one’s life and it would be better to prevent this.
“Titley was only in the house for a short time, and when he came out, some thought his behavior had changed,” the commission said in a statement. “At first he did not know that there were cameras in the house and garden, and, without paying attention to them, he found a jar containing banknotes.”
“He counted out a few bills and put them in his pocket. Soon after, he learned that there were cameras there, and very soon after he put the bills in his pocket, he returned them to their place. Then asked if the cameras were working and later suggested that it would be distressing for the family to view the footage as it could tell of a fall or resuscitation of an elderly lady who died during these events.”
Paramedics tried to resuscitate the woman for about 20 minutes before she was pronounced dead at the scene. When her son saw footage of Mark Titley pocketing £20 notes, he contacted the ambulance service and police.
Mark Titley pleaded guilty to theft at Shrewsbury Crown Court and was given an 18-week suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. He was banned from working as a paramedic at a court hearing that he did not attend. But he sent a letter in which he denies that he returned the money only after he learned about the CCTV camera.
“The document sent to me stated that the only reason for the refund was because the camera recorded my actions,” he wrote. “That’s not true, but again, the perception of the tape was that I couldn’t defend my actions because it doesn’t show what I was thinking at the time.”
In another letter later, he wrote: “I sincerely regret my actions that day and am very sorry for any upset I have caused to the family of the deceased. My intentions were good, but my actions looked bad and it was too late to correct them.”
The court ruled that these statements could not be reconciled with the earlier guilty plea. And he decided the following:
“Paramedics come into contact with people who are extremely vulnerable and, as part of their work, must enter these people's homes. No one is prepared to tolerate being treated by a paramedic who acted like Titli. We recognize that deletion from the medical register is an extreme measure of punishment, but we are confident that this is a proportionate response, given the seriousness of the charge and the fact that no other sanctions will help maintain the proper level of public confidence.”
