A nurse who was involved in resuscitating an Indigenous man who died in custody has told at a NSW coronial inquest he believes the medical team did their best to revive him.
David Dungay died in Long Bay Prison Hospital on December 29, 2015, just weeks before he was due to be released.
Five correctional officers forcibly transferred him to a camera-monitored cell after Mr Dungay, a diabetic, refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits.
The 26-year-old screamed “I can’t breathe” a dozen times before he was injected with a powerful sedative.
When he became unresponsive, medical staff took over and unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate him.
A two-week inquest into the death began in July last year but ran behind schedule.
It returned to the NSW Coroners Court in Sydney on Monday, where one of the registered nurses Netra Thapa gave evidence via video-link.
Speaking about the efforts of medical staff to attend to Mr Dungay, Mr Thapa said: “It was a challenging situation. We were all distressed. But we were doing our best to revive the patient".
He agreed there were times Mr Dungay was not receiving any chest compression or ventilation of his airways.
A second nurse, Rajana Maharjan, said staff struggled to open Mr Dungay's airways as he vomited.
"There was lots of food particles coming out from his mouth every time we did the CPR … we were using handheld suction," she said.
The court heard emergency response guidelines have been revised since Mr Dungay's death.
David Dungay's mother, Leetona Dungay, with supporters outside the inquest into the death of David Dungay in custody at the NSW Coroner's Court. Source: AAP
Under the new policy, a single person is in charge of coordinating CPR during emergencies.
The court also heard further training has since been provided to medical staff, including those who were involved in Mr Dungay’s death.
“It’s a much better practice in place compared to before the incident that happened,” Mr Thapa said.
“It’s more effective so everybody is on the same page … not chaos.”
But for Mr Dungay's family, policy updates are simply not enough.
"I want changes, but I also want these bastards held accountable for what they’ve done to my son,” David Dungay’s mother Leetona said outside court.
Mr Dungay’s nephew, Paul Silva, said the family will continue to fight for justice, “despite the trauma and… emotional distress".
"More families like mine are going to go through this traumatic experience until they hold someone accountable and show Corrective Services NSW that enough is enough."
A final seven witnesses will give evidence this week before the family gives their testimony on Friday.
