A paramedic desperately banged on the windows of an ambulance to get help for a patient choking on his own vomit after the emergency vehicle was stuck waiting outside a hospital for almost two hours, an inquest has heard.
Paramedic Stacey White became emotional as she described feeling ‘completely powerless’ to help Bernard Anthony Skeffington, 89, as they waited for him to be admitted to Royal Adelaide Hospital on September 25, 2021.
‘It was clear to us he required urgent assistance. He vomited out of both nostrils and his mouth,’ she said.
‘The colour suggested a faecal vomit, which is indication of a serious acute condition. There was a high risk Mr Skeffington might aspirate.’
‘My main thought was to do everything I could to keep his airway open. I felt completely powerless.’
Bernard Anthony Skeffington, 89, began choking on his own vomit while waiting in an ambulance to be admitted to hospital
Mr Skeffington, who died four days later as a result of aspiration pneumonia secondary to small bowel obstruction, had already waited three hours and 42 minutes to be picked up by an ambulance after dialing triple-0.
Ms Evans told the Coroner’s court previously three ambulances were sent before one reached Mr Skeffington.
Ms White said Mr Skeffington was vomiting for between 30 seconds to one minute causing her to bang on the ambulance windows to get the attention of other paramedics because she could reach her radio to alert them.
‘I did everything I possibly could,’ she said, according to the Adelaide Advertiser at the inquest into the deaths of Mr Skeffington as well as Anna Vincenza Panella, 76, and Graham Henry Jessett, 64, all of whom suffered ambulance delays.
Mr Skeffington’s son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter gave signs of distress as they listened to the evidence from the public gallery.
Ms White testified that she felt her concerns over Mr Skeffington were ‘brushed off’ by triage nurses but could not specifically cite why.
‘It does happen in the triage system sometimes,’ she said.
A South n inquest is inquiring into the deaths of three people who experienced long ambulance delays to be picked up and then waiting to be admitted to hospitals (stock image)
Former triage nurse Jenese Heywood, who treated Ms Panella, said ramping, which means leaving ambulances queued up outside a hospital with the patients, was one of the reasons she left health care.
‘It’s an everyday stressful experience,’ she said.
Deputy State Coroner Ian White has invited Mr Skeffington’s son, who used to be a nurse, to provide two statements to the court one on his father’s life and family impact of his death and the other asking his professional opinion of what transpired.
The inquest, which opened last week, will determine if the SA Ambulance Service or the individual hospitals were responsible for patients when they were in an ambulance waiting to be taken into an emergency department.
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Eddie, 54, (pictured) died after waiting more than 10 hours for an ambulance