Family tells inquest of devastation at loss of son

A family was left "devastated" by the death of a man who died while two Jersey ambulance workers were at his home, the man's mother has told an inquest.

The inquest into the death of Frazer Irvine, 39, who died after he called 999 and had a heart attack on 18 March 2022, started on Tuesday.

Reading from a written description, his mother Linda Irvine told the hearing her kind, generous son was a "beautiful soul" who always saw the best in people and never had a bad word to say about anyone.

The inquest, due to conclude on Friday, continues.

Paramedic John Sutherland and ambulance technician Tom Le Sauteur were previously found guilty of failing to take reasonable care of Mr Irvine the night he died.

That verdict was upheld at an appeal hearing.

At the inquest, coroner Bridget Dolan KC started proceedings by inviting the family to tell the hearing about the man and son Mr Irvine was.

Mrs Irvine told the hearing her son was a popular child who could "charm the monkeys out the trees".

She said he grew into a loving and dependable adult with a natural wit; he loved music and nature, which was why he chose to pursue a career as a tree surgeon, she added.

She said her son struggled with anxiety after a deceitful relationship in his early 20s ended badly, impacting him and the family.

He was a man with a confident exterior but he could be easily hurt, Mrs Irvine said.

She said that, while his passing had devastated the family, Mr Irvine was too big a personality to ever be forgotten.

She said what had been hard was that, while her son was always the first to offer help, when he asked for it the "people charged to do so couldn't treat him like the kind human being he was until it was too late".

She said she hoped that in her son’s last moments, when he was "abandoned" on a stairwell, he knew how much he was loved.

Ms Dolan read statements from a girlfriend and friend of Mr Irvine who both described his having a difficult relationship with alcohol.

The coroner also questioned the two police officers, PC Aaron Buckley and PC Polly Wilton, who attended to Mr Irvine the night he died.

Mr Sutherland and Mr Le Sauteur requested police back-up on the scene because they said Mr Irvine had been aggressive towards them.

Ms Dolan questioned the police on the events of the night, focusing on how information was passed between police and ambulance teams and whether the officers had learnt anything from the events.

Body-worn camera footage from both officers was shown during the hearing.

On the footage, PC Wilton was heard to be the one who first noticed a deterioration in Mr Irvine's condition, making observations on his breathing and his change in colour.

Mr Irvine's family thanked PC Wilton for her efforts that night.

In giving evidence to the inquest, Mr Le Sauteur accepted he made a mistake in delaying his response to PC Wilton’s concerns about Mr Irvine’s breathing and pallor.

However, up until that point, he told the coroner he believed Mr Irvine was left without the care he needed because he and Mr Sutherland were put in a position where they had to make difficult decisions without all the information needed.

He added that they walked into the situation "pretty blind".

When asked what Jersey’s ambulance service could learn from the incident, Mr Le Sauteur said there should be better communication between 999 call handlers and paramedics on the ground, adding that ambulance staff had previously had issues struggling to get police back-up.

He also said ambulance staff needed clearer guidance regarding crews' right to withdraw care when dealing with aggressive patients.

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