Kilburn Hall supervisor tells inquest he thought teen was in withdrawal

A Kilburn Hall supervisor who decided against taking a teen to hospital didn’t have training to tell the difference between drug withdrawal and a potentially fatal overdose, a coroner’s inquest heard.

The 17-year-old, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was pronounced dead at Royal University Hospital on July 30, 2015.

Supervisor Dale Larocque said a youth worker alerted him that the teen was asking to go to the hospital. He spoke to the boy and phoned a psychiatric nurse for advice before deciding the teen’s withdrawal from methamphetamine did not require a trip to the hospital on the night of July 29, the coroner’s jury heard at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench on Thursday.

Larocque said he appointed another youth worker to remain with the teen constantly, watching through a window. He then phoned the youth detention centre’s director.

Larocque and youth workers who have testified this week all said they have little to no training in identifying the difference between drug withdrawal and overdose.

No nurse was on shift on the night in question, but one was available for phone consultation or could be called in.

Psychiatric nurse Pamela Watt testified earlier that she wasn’t able to make a definitive assessment without seeing the youth and instructed two supervisors who called her that night to watch for changes in his condition, listing blueness of fingertips and lips or slurred speech and foaming at the mouth as important signs.

Larocque said he had worked with the teen previously and had seen him withdraw from drugs before. He said the boy was aggressive and angry, swearing and punching the wall or window — behaviours he had seen him exhibit before.

“It wasn’t out of the normal,” Larocque said.

He passed on all the information he had to Robert Johnson, the supervisor who took over at 11 p.m. shift change, he said, adding he was comfortable with his decision and thought Johnson was well briefed to take over. Larocque said he called the facility at 12:30 a.m. to see how the youth was doing.

Youth workers testified this week that the teen appeared to be in medical distress, that he begged for help and that they urged Larocque and Robertson to call an ambulance.

The youth had not slept during a two-week methamphetamine binge preceding his arrest three days earlier, the inquest heard. An addictions worker at the youth facility had warned the assembled staff that the boy’s withdrawal “was going to be ugly.”

Johnson was scheduled to testify Thursday afternoon.

Coroner Neil Robertson said he expects to instruct the jury Friday.