A paramedic who stole drugs from his own ambulance to help him through his marriage break-up has been spared a jail sentence.
Mercy man Colin Girvan took laughing gas, sedatives and morphine – and forged a colleague’s signature to try to cover his tracks.
Inverness Sheriff Court also heard that on at least one occasion the 45-year-old appeared to have taken painkillers when he was on duty and was unsteady on his feet.
His workmate became suspicious when Girvan arrived at his house and ask for a syringe to give medicine to his dog.
When the technician checked the ambulance he discovered drugs were missing, and a day later he reported him after finding cannisters of painkilling gas in his personal bag.
Girvan, who had a 25year career in the ambulance service, was spared a prison term despite Sheriff Margaret Neilson describing his crimes as “a gross breach of trust”.
She said it was only his previous good character that prevented him from going to jail, and added: “It is a pity that your actions have now left you with a criminal record and cost you your job.”
Girvan, formerly of Kingussie in Inverness-shire, but now of 64 Dalgleish Avenue, Cumnock, was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He admitted taking morphine, diazemuls and Entenox – a form of laughing gas – from the safe in his vehicle and an ambulance base while working in Kingussie between October 29 and December 6, 2013.
He also admitted stealing a demand valve and tubing from the ambulance.
Fiscal depute Stella Swan said that Girvan was in charge of the ambulance and the morphine was kept in a safe in 10mg vials.
She explained: “There were also Entenox canisters in the vehicle as well as vials of diazemuls and a register was kept to record their usage.
“The morphine was accessed from a safe with his personal swipe card and he falsified signatures of his colleague on the register.
“On December 4, he was working with his colleague dealing with a patient who required 5mg of morphine. He told his colleague that he had administered 15mg and said he had signed the register on his behalf.
“When he went to the technician’s house to get a syringe saying he needed it to give medication to his dog, his colleague became suspicious and noticed a vial was missing.
“At work the next day, the technician and Girvan were at a food outlet when some Entenox tubing fell from Girvan’s clothing and he became concerned. Girvan was unsteady on his feet and appeared to be out of sorts.
“A short time later, he was moving Girvan’s personal bag in the vehicle and he noticed it was heavy. He looked inside and saw two Entenox canisters. The technician reported his concerns to his supervisor and Girvan was suspended.”
Ms Swan said that 40mg of morphine was missing and unrecorded that week and when interviewed by his bosses and police, Girvan admitted taking the drugs, including three Entenox canisters.
Ms Swan said Girvan blamed his “deteriorating personal life, his marriage break-up and the lack of access to his children”.
His solicitor, Willie Young, said Girvan had co-operated fully with the investigation and was “deeply ashamed”.
“He had been a paramedic for 25 years and had been married for six years, although in a relationship for 18 years previous to that.
“When his marriage broke up, he was struggling to come to terms with it and moved to take up a job in Kingussie.
“There was an element of social isolation and he struggled with depression, so he chose to self-medicate.
“Since then, he has lost his job and moved back to Ayrshire. He cannot explain why he acted in this fashion and he is genuinely contrite.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said the service could not comment because Girvan no longer worked for it.
When asked if there were occasions when Girvan might have been under the influence of drugs while on duty, the spokesman said: “The individual has certain rights, whether or not he is employed with us now or if he does not work for us now.
“We never give out any information about an individual member of staff or an ex-member.”