TWO paramedics have told the Royal Court about the “difficult” conditions they faced when answering a 999 call from a man who had called with a possible overdose.
They say that the man was not only aggressive, but that they had to work on him on a balcony. One added that he feared taking equipment into his flat for fear that it could be used as a weapon against them.
Tom Le Sauteur (26) told the court on Monday that not only was the space small, “but also, when you’re on there doing chest compressions, but there are no barriers to stop you from going over the edge”.
Mr Le Sauteur is on trial for a health and safety infraction alongside his colleague John Sutherland (61).
They are accused of failing to take “reasonable care” of a 39-year-old man who had called 999 claiming he had taken all of the drugs in his flat. He died of cardiac and respiratory arrest while in their care. Both men deny the charge.
Hearings, which began last week, have been well-attended, with a number of paramedics in the gallery.
Giving evidence yesterday, Mr Sutherland described how when the pair first arrived at the address, they were not sure they were at the right flat.
Both paramedics explained that they had decided not to bring equipment with them because they knew the patient was potentially aggressive, and because they were not sure they were in the right place.
Mr Sutherland said: “There was… a gentleman sitting on the sofa. As we approached him, he asked if he’d called us, called the ambulance.
“He told us to f**k off and get out of his flat, that he didn’t need us.”
Mr Sutherland explained that the pair stepped back, but were happy that the patient was speaking to them.
Later, on the balcony of the flat, the patient became physically threatening, getting into a boxing position, Mr Sutherland said.
“Now that he had stood up, he changed his demeanour again, he became aggressive,” he added.
Advocate Ian Jones, defending, said one of the criticisms levelled at the pair was that they did not bring equipment to the flat.
Mr Sutherland said: “These are dangerous situations for us to be in.”
He explained that he was worried, given past experience, that equipment could be used as a weapon by aggressive patients. “I have seen it on a number of occasions where bits of kit have been thrown around,” he said.
The paramedics said they had called for police back-up after realising the patient was getting aggressive and was difficult to move, but there had been a delay in the police arriving.
Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, questioned Mr Le Sauteur on his assessment of the patient’s level of consciousness.
Using the Glasgow Coma Scale, Mr Le Sauteur said he had estimated the patient as being a 13 or 14, where 15 is the most conscious.
He was seen on footage shown to the court wrapped in a blanket and with vomit on the step below his face.
Experts giving evidence earlier in the trial said the man could have scored lower.
Mr Sutherland, who told the court he had joined the ambulance service in 1988 and had been a paramedic since 1991, said he “very much” liked the role.
“It means everything to me,” he said.
“Ever since I started doing it, I realised it was what I was meant to do, without sounding too cheesy about it.”
Mr Le Sauteur admitted to the court that he was colour blind and that this could have made him slower to pick up on a change of colour in the patient.
The change of colour was picked up by one of the police officers attending.
The trial is expected to finish tomorrow.
Commissioner Sir John Saunders is presiding.
Jurats Jane Ronge and Michael Entwistle are sitting.
