Veronica Nelson handled inhumanely earlier than jail demise, jail officer concedes

CCTV exhibits Brown, nurse Atheana George and two different prison officers present Nelson with paracetamol though a cell lure door about 1.30am. It was the final time workers saw her alive.

Throughout Brown’s nightshift, the coroner heard Nelson went on to make 9 further requires help over the prison intercom, including a remaining 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 battle to suppress her identification, Brown revealed she now believed she should’ve finished more to assist Nelson throughout her remaining hours.

Brown accepted she had an obligation of care to Nelson and may have gone to examine on the 37-year-old after the inmate grew to become unresponsive during her final intercom name. She also accepted Nelson was deprived of “ample” medical care during her keep and not handled humanely.

The jail officer was also critical of the medical care provided to inmates and the condition wherein some arrived at the Yarra unit. She said night time nurses often refused to stroll the 200 metres from the medical unit to the Yarra unit to see sufferers throughout the night time.

Jail officers usually are not permitted to name triple zero and more senior workers would have to be contacted to do that in any emergency, Brown said.

An autopsy later found Nelson had the undiagnosed medical condition Wilkie’s syndrome, a rare however probably life-threatening gastrointestinal condition.

Rishi Nathwani, representing Nelson’s mother, was crucial of Brown’s motion and pressed the prison officer on an inside review that praised her actions.

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

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

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

Photographs and audio contained on this story had been released to the media with permission from the household. For 24/7 disaster help run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).