Nurse tells inquest of treatment she gave prisoner before his death

Australia Broadcast Center

a day ago

A prison nurse who treated a First Nations man the morning he died in a central Victorian prison has broken down in tears at his coronial inquest.
This story contains the name and image of an Indigenous Australian who has died. They are used with the permission of his family.
Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri man Clinton Austin, 38, was found unresponsive in his cell at Loddon Prison, near Castlemaine, on September 11 in 2022.
The Coroners Court of Victoria on Friday heard nurse Ebony Kearns did not test Mr Austin's vital signs and did not make further observations after he presented to a prison clinic complaining of vomiting and diarrhoea the morning he died.
Ms Kearns told the inquest this was because she believed he was "OK" considering his appearance and the nature of his complaints.
"I should have been more thorough, regardless of [the] outcome," she told the court.
The inquest also heard an expert report found Mr Austin's condition had warranted further observations, including heart and respiratory rate monitoring.
Mr Austin was serving a three-and-a-half-year jail term for aggravated burglary and had been eligible for parole for almost one year before he died.
He had an acquired brain injury from a car accident in 2018 and lived with schizophrenia.
The coronial inquest resumed months after evidence was given in March and April.
The inquest heard Ms Kearns could have rescheduled other appointments and administrative work to monitor Mr Austin's symptoms.
A lawyer representing Mr Austin's family cross-examined Ms Kearns in relation to two statements she gave about her care of Mr Austin the day he died.
One statement was completed for an internal prison database.
The other statement, which was submitted to the inquest, was signed in March 2023, several months after Mr Austin's death.
The court heard this statement was written with the assistance of lawyers and heavily edited.
Ms Kearns was asked by a lawyer representing Mr Austin's family why it was signed in March.
"I was quite fearful of this entire process," Ms Kearns said.
The court also heard Ms Kearns completed a mandatory cultural competency training module online each year.
But while she found that training "useful", it took about 20 to 30 minutes to complete and was often repeated.
"Something in person would be better," she said.
At the beginning of the inquest, Coroner Ingrid Giles ruled a doctor's report suggesting Mr Austin could have died from either sepsis or heart failure would be included as evidence.
The report, written by addiction medicine specialist Nico Clark, was commissioned by lawyers representing the Austin family and submitted after the deadline.
Lawyers for prison healthcare provider, GEO Healthcare, and mental health provider, Forensicare, said the findings were outside Dr Clark's area of expertise.
They said the late service denied procedural fairness.
More evidence will be heard from September 1-12, not including September 11, the day Mr Austin died.
Inquest hearings from April heard Mr Austin was an NDIS participant but fell through a gap in disability support services before his death.