Paramedic tells Bondi Junction stabbing inquest he felt ‘inadequate’ waiting outside scene

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A decorated Paramedic has spoken of his frustrations and feelings of inadequacy at the scene of the Bondi Junction stabbings. The initial chaos of the emergency response has been outlined at an inquest. It has heard about the confusion about suspicions of a possible second attack and issues with communication between agencies. While there are lessons to be learned, the court was told it didn’t impact the clinical outcomes of the victims.

Transcript

00:01Critical care paramedic Christopher Wilkinson arrived at Bondi Junction last April,

00:07where ambulances and stretchers were waiting outside.

00:11But a warning from the Sydney Control Centre had instructed crews to hold their position.

00:16I stood there with my boots on the ground, quite frustrated,

00:19thinking that people may well be dying upstairs and nobody was doing anything medically for them.

00:25By this time, Joel Couchy had stabbed 16 people, including 6 who died,

00:30before he was shot dead by a police inspector.

00:34An officer at the Westfield doors told the veteran paramedic

00:37it was essentially a so-called hot zone or area of active threat

00:41because of fears there was a second attacker.

00:44Some paramedics were already inside, but Mr Wilkinson told the inquest

00:48it took a long time to decide if paramedics could go in or come out.

00:53Among the six victims was security guard Faraz Tahir, who Mr Wilkinson tried to save on the street.

01:00I was left standing there wondering whether there were any more patients like Mr Tahir.

01:05New South Wales Ambulance Assistant Commissioner Brent Armitage

01:09made a formal declaration of a hot zone around 4.30pm.

01:13By that time, all patients were out of the building.

01:16The court heard the declaration had no impact on the clinical outcomes for victims,

01:21but the Assistant Commissioner said one lesson here is that police and ambulance commands

01:26should be in the same place so they can easily and quickly share information.

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