Veronica Nelson handled inhumanely earlier than jail dying, prison officer concedes

CCTV exhibits Brown, nurse Atheana George and two other prison officers provide Nelson with paracetamol though a cell trap door about 1.30am. It was the last time staff saw her alive.

During Brown’s nightshift, the coroner heard Nelson went on to make 9 further calls for assist over the prison intercom, together with a last two conversations Lacy described as “haunting” and “chilling”. Nothing was heard from Nelson after 4am. Her body was discovered later that morning.

Attending paramedics believed she had been useless for some time.

Taking to the witness stand for the first time on Friday after a failed Supreme Court docket battle to suppress her id, Brown revealed she now believed she should’ve performed more to assist Nelson during her ultimate hours.

Brown accepted she had an obligation of care to Nelson and will have gone to verify on the 37-year-old after the inmate turned unresponsive during her closing intercom name. She additionally accepted Nelson was deprived of “enough” medical care throughout her keep and never treated humanely.

The jail officer was additionally vital of the medical care provided to inmates and the situation through which some arrived on the Yarra unit. She stated night time nurses usually refused to stroll the 200 metres from the medical unit to the Yarra unit to see sufferers through the night time.

Jail officers are usually not permitted to name triple zero and more senior staff would have to be contacted to try this in any emergency, Brown stated.

An post-mortem later found Nelson had the undiagnosed medical condition Wilkie’s syndrome, a rare however doubtlessly life-threatening gastrointestinal situation.

Rishi Nathwani, representing Nelson’s mom, was important of Brown’s motion and pressed the prison officer on an inner assessment that praised her actions.

Nathwani said in the overview, Dame Phyllis Frost general manager Tracey Jones stated she was “proud” of the way Nelson was treated in her final hours and that Brown “sensitively managed the intercom calls”.

Prison CCTV reveals Tracey Brown, far proper, attending Nelson’s jail cell alongside nurse Atheana George about 1.30am the day of Nelson’s dying.

On the stand, Brown disagreed. Jones is due to give evidence next week.

Photos and audio contained in this story had been launched to the media with permission from the family. For twenty-four/7 disaster help run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander folks, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).