Sheriff calls for defibrillators in police stations after death
Officers failed to apply CPR to man who suffered heart attack
DEFIBRILLATORS should be rolled out to all police stations in Scotland following the death of a man who suffered a heart attack in custody, a sheriff has said.
The recommendations follow a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the case of Kevin McGurty, 43, who collapsed at Annan Police Station in Dumfries and Galloway on November 20, 2013.
The court heard that the availability of defibrillators varied at police stations across Scotland but were “not generally” provided to smaller stations such as Annan.
Sheriff George Jamieson said that while there were “no reasonable precautions” which were likely to have prevented Mr McGurty’s death, he urged Police Scotland and the NHS to consider equipping all custody stations with the devices which can “shock” the heart into restarting during cardiac arrest.
Sheriff Jamieson also called for a review of the training given to staff to deal with a medical emergency after the FAI found that the two officers trying to help Mr McGurty “failed to apply CPR”.
Sheriff Jamieson said they had panicked when “faced with a real life emergency” and “did not put their training into practice”. This suggested “inadequate training”, he added.
Mr McGurty had been on the run from police earlier in the evening following reports of a domestic disturbance between himself and his wife. He later surrendered to PCs Keith McKinnell and Chloe Rice who drove him to Annan Police Station, but within minutes of arriving he “suddenly fell backwards to the ground”.
The officers put Mr McGurty into the recovery position and immediately phoned for an ambulance. However, expert witnesses who reviewed CCTV footage of the incident told the FAI that the officers “had appropriately”.
In his determination, Sheriff Jamieson said: “The police officers had failed to apply CPR when the circumstances suggested that Mr not acted McGurty was not breathing normally ... My impression is PC McKinnell, who was petrified was unable to think clearly and apply his training. PC Rice, a newly qualified officer, deferred to his decisions. They both wanted the medics to arrive and deal with the problem.
“Unfortunately for Mr McGurty time was of the essence and CPR should have been applied immediately to increase his chances of survival.”
However, the sheriff stressed that even with a defibrillator, doctors estimated Mr McGurty’s chances of survival beyond 30 days were “no more than one to two per cent” given his overall poor health, which included alcohol problems and heavy smoking. The post-mortem examination also revealed that his heart was slightly enlarged. Nonetheless, Sheriff Jamieson said “consideration should be given” to equipping all custody stations with defibrillators.
He added that, despite errors, both officers had been “very caring and attentive” to Mr McGurty.
He said: “They had to make a judgment in difficult circumstances, for which even the best training might not have equipped them psychologically. The court’s duty however is to look back with the benefit of hindsight and conclude, as it has done, that the officers should have applied CPR.
“This is unlikely to have saved Mr McGurty’s life, but, police must do more to impress upon its officers the need to act with alacrity when similar circumstances arise.”