A paramedic convicted of failing to provide reasonable care to a patient who later died is due to speak at an inquest into his death today.
Frazer Irvine died in March 2022 after taking an overdose and making a 999 call.
Following the 39-year-old’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.
The two men’s appeals against their convictions was lost four months later, and in January of this year they resigned from the Jersey Ambulance Service.
Mr Le Sauteur spoke on the first day of the main part of the inquest at International House in St Helier yesterday, and Mr Sutherland was due to give his account this morning.
Yesterday, Mr Irvine’s mother described her late son as a quick-witted and loyal family man who was a dependable friend to the many people he knew.
Linda Irvine said that her second-oldest child had been a devoted big brother to his two younger siblings and provided help to many of those he knew.
His mother said: “When he was born, he had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, and even as a young child he could charm the monkeys down from the trees with his loving ways and his impish grin.”
The inquest heard that in his early 20s, Mr Irvine had a relationship which ended badly, leaving him “devastated” and causing issues with anxiety, trust and self-esteem.
I hope that in his last moments… he knew how much he was loved
linda irvine, mother of frazer
Concluding her contribution, Mrs Irvine said: “He was the first to offer help to anyone in need, but when asked, those charged [with helping him] could not treat him kindly until it was too late.
“Frazer always ended his conversations by saying ‘love you mum, more than you know’ and I hope that in his last moments, abandoned on the staircase, he knew how much he was loved.”
The hearing also heard a statement given by Mr Irvine’s girlfriend, who said the couple had met in October 2021 and quickly become “inseparable”.
She described him as a “kind, sharing and giving man” with a “gentle aura”, but said that he had showed signs of anxiety after the death of his grandmother around Christmas and had started drinking heavily.
The inquest also heard that Mr Irvine had sent multiple messages to his girlfriend on the night of his death, including mentioning that he had taken “everything from the [medicine] cupboard and probably wouldn’t wake up”.
But her phone hadn’t been working properly and she had only seen the messages the following morning, by which time he was dead.