Veronica Nelson handled inhumanely before jail dying, prison officer concedes

CCTV shows Brown, nurse Atheana George and two different jail officers provide Nelson with paracetamol though a cell entice door about 1.30am. It was the last time employees noticed her alive.

Throughout Brown’s nightshift, the coroner heard Nelson went on to make 9 additional calls for assist over the jail intercom, including 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 dead for a while.

Taking to the witness stand for the first time on Friday after a failed Supreme Court docket struggle to suppress her identification, Brown revealed she now believed she ought to’ve executed extra to help Nelson during her closing hours.

Brown accepted she had a duty of care to Nelson and may have gone to check on the 37-year-old after the inmate became unresponsive during her closing intercom name. She additionally accepted Nelson was deprived of “sufficient” medical care throughout her stay and not treated humanely.

The prison officer was also vital of the medical care supplied to inmates and the situation by which some arrived on the Yarra unit. She mentioned night time nurses often refused to walk the 200 metres from the medical unit to the Yarra unit to see patients in the course of the night.

Prison officers usually are not permitted to name triple zero and extra senior staff would need to be contacted to try this in any emergency, Brown said.

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

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

Nathwani stated in the overview, Dame Phyllis Frost normal supervisor Tracey Jones mentioned 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 demise.

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

Images and audio contained on this story have been launched to the media with permission from the family. For twenty-four/7 disaster assist run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).