A County Durham man with a rare complication of tonsillitis who may have been crushing and snorting painkillers would likely have irritated and inflamed his airways dramatically, an inquest has heard. Andrew Watson died on October 10, 2019, and an inquest has been held at Crook Coroner's Court.
The 32-year-old had quinsy, a rare complication of tonsillitis, which saw a tennis ball-sized swelling in his throat block his airway. The inquest previously heard how a support worker told paramedics after Andrew's death that he had been crushing and snorting painkillers because he could not swallow. However, neither the care worker nor Beverley Richardson, who gave evidence on Monday, recalled this.
On Wednesday, expert witness Dr Samy Sadek, a consultant in trauma, emergency medicine, and pre-hospital care, gave evidence. One key issue was that the ambulance response to Andrew's Langley Moor supported accommodation was too slow. He first dialled 999 at 5.38pm, but an ambulance did not arrive until around 6.45pm.
In a report, Dr Sadek said that an estimate of 6.45pm was beyond the point that was survivable for Andrew. The inquest heard that on the balance of probabilities, 6.35pm was the tipping point of survivability, and he would have needed to be in hospital with a procedure happening on or before that point. The report said that some time between 6.23pm and 6.35pm, critical obstruction occurred, at which the chance of survivability slipped to less than probable.
The inquest heard that quinsy can rapidly develop, and the doctor mentioned the suggestion Andrew may have been snorting painkillers. Dr Sadek said there were several possibilities for Andrew's quinsy progression, including bleeding, smoking if Andrew had been smoking, and communication issues relating to mental health. Speaking of the taking of painkillers, Dr Sadek added: There was a concern he was snorting painkillers, I understand as he probably would have found swallowing very painful. The snorting of any chemical, I would imagine, would irritate and inflame the airways quite possibly, very dramatically.
The inquest also heard evidence from Fraser Gregory, a call handler shift manager, who said the categorisation of Andrew's calls was correct. Mr Gregory said that call handlers, also known as health advisors, are not clinically trained and call categories are nationally determined.
The inquest continues but has been adjourned until July 23 at 10am.
