Paramedic was called to dying boy

Owen died in August 2002

A paramedic who was called to take a child with asthma to hospital arrived to find a boy who was dying, an inquiry has been told.

John Angelini told a fatal accident inquiry into the death of Owen Charleston, from Cumbernauld, how he expected the boy to be sitting upright.

Mr Angelini said he arrived at the local health centre three minutes after receiving a call.

Despite continued efforts to revive him, Owen did not respond.

'No pulse'

He was officially pronounced dead on arrival at Monklands District Hospital.

The paramedic was giving evidence to the inquiry which is being held at Airdrie Sheriff Court.

I expected to see a child sitting up with breathing difficulties, but that wasn't the case when we got there John Angelini

He said that the initial call he received was to take a child with an asthma attack to Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow but when he found Owen he decided to take him to nearby Monklands District Hospital instead.

Mr Angelini said: "I expected to see a child sitting up with breathing difficulties, but that wasn't the case when we got there."

He told the inquiry that when he and his ambulance technician colleague arrived, Owen had no pulse, his blood pressure was zero and he had stopped breathing.

On the day he died, Owen's mother Michelle Hynes, 36, had taken him to the local doctors' clinic in Cumbernauld after he fell ill.

Owen was sent home with asthma drugs after being diagnosed as having a suspected panic attack.

'Mix-up'

His condition worsened later that day and his mother returned with him to the practice. This time an ambulance was called, but, a short time later, Owen was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Earlier the probe heard about his medical history.

A nurse from the health centre, Aileen McLean, told the inquiry that Owen had been diagnosed with asthma in November 1999.

She said she ran an asthma clinic but that she did not see the child again after first diagnosing him.

Andrew Smith QC, acting on behalf of Owen's family, asked why Owen was not called back to the clinic.

Michelle Hynes took her son to the GPs' surgery

The nurse replied: "Because we didn't have a recall system in place at that time."

She said that system was in the process of being updated in light of the child's death.

In April 2002 he was taken to Yorkhill Hospital, the first time he had been admitted because of his asthma problem.

A paediatric consultant, as well as an asthma nursing facilitator, had asked for follow-up appointments to be made after Owen was discharged.

However, the inquiry heard that no follow-up appointment for either the nursing facilitator's clinic or the GPs' outpatients' clinic was made due to what the procurator fiscal Ann Ferguson suggested was a "mix up".

The inquiry was told that staff nurses, discharge nurses, the asthma nurse facilitator and the doctors in charge of Owen could all have made the appointment.

The inquiry also heard that the notes which had been made throughout Owen's three-day stay at the hospital in April stated that no follow-up appointment was to be made, despite the nurse and doctor requesting earlier in the notes that an appointment should be made.

Owen was then discharged without an appointment.

The inquiry before Sheriff Robert Dickson continues.