from The West Australian
The doctor who tried to save the life of an Aboriginal elder who collapsed in the back of a prisoner transport van said the man’s skin had been as hot as a cup of coffee.
Anju Mahesh Reddy, an emergency specialist who treated Mr Ward at Kalgoorlie Hospital, told an inquest yesterday it was likely Mr Ward’s body temperature would have been higher than 45C when he reached hospital.
Mr Ward died of heatstroke after being transported in the van with no airconditioning for four hours in 42C heat.
Dr Reddy and clinical nurse Frances Wakeham, who assisted with Mr Ward’s resuscitation attempts, told the inquest Mr Ward’s skin had been wet and warm.
“He felt like touching a hot cup full of coffee,” Dr Reddy told Coroner Alastair Hope. Mr Ward’s temperature was 41.7C after he had been given two litres of intravenous fluids and had 20 minutes in an ice bath in hospital but died despite the treatment.
Ms Wakeham and Christina Stewart, another nurse who had assisted in attempting to resuscitate Mr Ward, testified that the nurses at the hospital had never seen a case of heatstroke as serious as Mr Ward’s.
The inquest has also heard evidence Mr Ward had suffered burns believed to have been caused when his stomach came into contact with the hot metal surface inside the prison van.
“You don’t expect to see a fresh burn on someone,” Ms Stewart said.
Australians, the police in particular, need to treat Aborigines like humans and show them the respect they deserve. Most Australians act as if Aborigines do not even exist and they spend far too much energy excusing their past crimes against the indigenous people and to little energy righting past wrongs and making life better for all citizens, not just the white ones.
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