Paramedic Stacey White tells inquest nasal procedure could have saved life of patient ramped at RAH

One procedure could have saved the life of a man ramped in the back of an ambulance – but a court has heard paramedics can’t do it.

An elderly man may still be alive if SA paramedics were allowed to perform a lifesaving procedure on conscious patients, an inquest has heard.

An inquest into the deaths of three patients ramped inside ambulances at Adelaide hospitals has heard 89-year-old Bernard Anthony Skeffington – who choked on his own vomit – could have lived had paramedics been able to insert nasogastric tubes into a conscious patient.

Stacey White – the paramedic who treated Mr Skeffington as he waited nearly two hours – told the inquest on Tuesday measures could have been taken to “prevent” his death in 2021.

“More likely than not his death could have been prevented,” Ms White said in a statement read to the court.

“My understanding is that there is nobody in SA Ambulance Service who can insert a nasogastric tube into a conscious patient. I’m not sure why we don’t have that training.

Bernard "Brian" Skeffington, 89, died after waiting five hours for an ambulance.

Paramedic Stacey White outside the Coroner’s Court. Picture: Matt Loxton

“We do have the training now for when they are unconscious – we are able to do it in a cardiac arrest situation when they are unresponsive. However, when you’re thinking of putting something down someone’s nose or throat for somebody who is conscious, it’s a different aspect that we would need to be taught how to do that.

“There would be a lot more other aspects to it so I guess we would probably then need better abilities to diagnose things to start with to then be able to do that skill.”

SA Ambulance Service confirmed to The Advertiser that Ms White was correct and paramedics could not inset nasogastric tubes into conscious patients.

The inquest, investigating the deaths of Mr Skeffington as well as Anna Vincenza Panella, 76, and Graham Henry Jessett, 64, started last week where it was revealed they all suffered medical complications after being ramped for extended periods of time.

Ms White said, after her partner went to go and get help from inside the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Mr Skeffington started to “vomit a bit” before it turned into “an explosive vomit”.

“It was clear to us he required urgent assistance,” she said.

“He vomited out of both nostrils and his mouth. The colour suggested a faecal vomit, which is indication of a serious acute condition. There was a high risk Mr Skeffington might aspirate.

“My main thought was to do everything I could to keep his airway open. I felt completely powerless.”

The inquest continues on Wednesday.

Originally published as Paramedic Stacey White tells inquest nasal procedure could have saved life of patient ramped at RAH