Veronica Nelson treated inhumanely earlier than jail dying, jail officer concedes

CCTV exhibits Brown, nurse Atheana George and two other jail officers present Nelson with paracetamol though a cell entice door about 1.30am. It was the final time employees saw her alive.

Throughout Brown’s nightshift, the coroner heard Nelson went on to make 9 further calls for help over the jail intercom, together with a final 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 a while.

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

Brown accepted she had an obligation of care to Nelson and may have gone to check on the 37-year-old after the inmate grew to become unresponsive during her ultimate intercom call. She also accepted Nelson was disadvantaged of “enough” medical care during her keep and not treated humanely.

The jail officer was additionally critical of the medical care supplied to inmates and the situation through which some arrived at the Yarra unit. She mentioned night nurses typically refused to walk the 200 metres from the medical unit to the Yarra unit to see sufferers during the night.

Jail officers should not permitted to call triple zero and extra senior employees would have to be contacted to do that in any emergency, Brown mentioned.

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

Rishi Nathwani, representing Nelson’s mom, was crucial of Brown’s action and pressed the prison officer on an internal evaluate that praised her actions.

Nathwani stated within the assessment, Dame Phyllis Frost normal supervisor Tracey Jones stated she was “proud” of the way Nelson was handled in her last hours and that Brown “sensitively managed the intercom calls”.

Jail CCTV reveals Tracey Brown, far right, attending Nelson’s prison cell alongside nurse Atheana George about 1.30am the day of Nelson’s death.

On the stand, Brown disagreed. Jones is because of give evidence subsequent week.

Images and audio contained on this story had been released to the media with permission from the family. For twenty-four/7 crisis help run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).