Veronica Nelson handled inhumanely earlier than jail death, prison officer concedes

CCTV shows Brown, nurse Atheana George and two other jail officers provide Nelson with paracetamol although a cell entice door about 1.30am. It was the last time workers saw her alive.

Throughout Brown’s nightshift, the coroner heard Nelson went on to make nine additional calls for assist over the jail intercom, including a remaining two conversations Lacy described as “haunting” and “chilling”. Nothing was heard from Nelson after 4am. Her physique was found later that morning.

Attending paramedics believed she had been dead for some time.

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

Brown accepted she had a duty of care to Nelson and should have gone to verify on the 37-year-old after the inmate grew to become unresponsive throughout her last intercom call. She additionally accepted Nelson was deprived of “satisfactory” medical care throughout her stay and never treated humanely.

The prison officer was also critical of the medical care provided to inmates and the condition in which some arrived on the Yarra unit. She stated night time nurses usually refused to walk the 200 metres from the medical unit to the Yarra unit to see sufferers through the night.

Prison officers are usually not permitted to call triple zero and more senior workers would need to be contacted to do this in any emergency, Brown said.

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

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

Nathwani said within the overview, Dame Phyllis Frost basic manager Tracey Jones mentioned she was “proud” of the way Nelson was treated in her ultimate hours and that Brown “sensitively managed the intercom calls”.

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

On the stand, Brown disagreed. Jones is because of give proof next week.

Images and audio contained on this story were released to the media with permission from the household. For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).