KEY POINTS:
Ambulance provider St John knew that senior paramedics injected the same syringe of morphine into two patients - and failed to tell one of them until Herald on Sunday inquiries a year later.
A veteran paramedic has accused St John of whitewashing the potentially dangerous error, which put a car crash victim at risk of blood contamination, as no action was taken.
But the mixup was not recorded on patient files from the crash even though St John management say they were later told of the incident.
St John have confirmed the same syringe was used to put pain-relief medicine into two car-crash patients, but say the syringe liquid did not come into direct contact with either of them.
"The risk of transfer of body fluids from one patient to the other is almost zero," said Brent Neilsen, St John Midlands operation manager.
However, the whistleblower said even if an IV line was used, blood-contaminated fluid could travel up the tube.
"The point is there is a risk. Never have I inadvertently... given a second patient the same syringe. It's absolutely taboo."
