RELATIVES of a Newport partygoer who collapsed and died say that paramedics who failed to take him to hospital did not fulfil their duty of care.

The family of Daniel Cripps, from Maesglas, spoke after two paramedics were suspended for a year for not taking the 22 year-old to hospital.

Mr Cripps’ aunt, Annette Wood, said: “People have their opinions because he was drunk, but the paramedics had a duty of care to him, and they did not do it.

“I feel for them, as they made the wrong decision, and have to live with that, but Daniel died. The family hope this will give us some closure, as we have been in limbo for three years.

“His sister Aimee in particular is very upset about him.

She just wants him to rest in peace. Obviously, the health authority needs to learn from their mistakes and the paramedics must, too.

“Our lives have been turned upside down, we’ve all been so upset – but I think it’s now time we put this to rest.

“They have been suspended and hopefully they have learned their lesson. It’s sad it had to take a death to teach them, though.”

A January 2012 inquest heard Mr Cripps should have been taken to hospital by paramedics when he collapsed after drinking 12 shots of vodka.

Ian Powell and Lindsey C Brown were suspended for a year by independent regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on Monday.

A panel of the HCPC conduct and competence committee heard the paramedics responded to an incident at a party in Allt-yr-yn on April 24, 2010 where Mr Cripps had collapsed.

He was left with his friends rather than taken to hospital, the report stated.

Another ambulance was called 24 minutes later, at which point Mr Cripps was in cardiac arrest. He died in the early hours the next day.

Both employees were suspended from the register for 12 months with an interim suspension order in place to cover the appeal period.