POLICE officers who went to assist paramedics in dealing with a man who had taken a drugs overdose have told an inquest how they watched the patient’s condition worsen and expressed a retrospective view that treatment should have been provided more quickly.
The inquest heard that 39-year-old Frazer Irvine had emptied and consumed the contents of a medication cupboard before making the 999 call that led to two paramedics and two police officers going to his house in Trinity.
Following Mr Irvine’s death, paramedics John Sutherland and Tom Le Sauteur were convicted of failing to provide reasonable care to a patient who later died and given conditional discharges after a trial in June 2024.
Giving evidence on the first day of the main part of the inquest at International House in St Helier yesterday, PC Aaron Buckley said he had been on duty with a colleague on a previously-quiet evening in March 2022 when they responded to a call to assist ambulance crewmen with an aggressive man.
A 10-minute clip of footage from PC Buckley’s body-worn camera was subsequently shown. Mr Irvine’s father left the hearing at this point, whereas his mother remained in the room and watched the video evidence.
Mr Irvine was shown lying at the top of an external staircase outside his front door, vomiting repeatedly, with the police officers attempting to reassure him and ensure he did not choke, while the paramedics donned PPE.
Asked by Coroner Bridget Dolan about potential lessons from the incident, PC Buckley said that with the benefit of hindsight he recognised he could have been more attentive and worked at greater speed.
“We could have been quicker in what we did,” he said.
PC Buckley added that although police officers received annual first aid training, it was hard to simulate the scenario encountered – with poor lighting, cold temperatures and restricted space.
PC Polly Wilton told the hearing that at the time of arrival she didn’t perceive that Mr Irvine represented a threat.
“The only risk was if he ‘came to’ and became aggressive again,” she said.
The police officer said she had noticed the colour of Mr Irvine’s skin change and his increased difficulty in breathing and had asked Mr Le Sauteur if he wanted her to call Mr Sutherland, who was in the ambulance at the time.
“I thought that something was wrong and that another paramedic would have been better than me,” said PC Wilton.
Giving evidence later in the day, Mr Le Sauteur said that he and Mr Sutherland had needed to make “difficult” decisions “in real time” and “in good faith”.
“It was not a textbook job, it was a difficult job,” he said.
Asked about learnings by Mrs Dolan, Mr Le Sauteur said there needed to be better communication between 999 call-handlers and paramedics on the ground, and better guidance on where paramedics stood when dealing with such incidents.
