AMBULANCE bosses have defended the actions of a paramedic who wrongly declared his patient dead - saying the right procedure was followed.

The second day of the inquest into the death of 61-year-old Christine Lawrenson – who died in May 2017 – opened on Tuesday in Cockermouth.

During the opening day, the inquest heard how Miss Lawrenson was seen through one of the windows of her caravan lying motionless on her kitchen floor.

Emergency services attended her address at West Shore Park on Walney Island shortly before 5.30pm. Five minutes later a decision was made by paramedic Garth Swarbrick to declare her deceased.

Explaining his reasons for the diagnosis, the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) paramedic said: “Police officers forced opened the door and I identified the lock and opened the door.

“Upon entering the property there was sign of decomposition.

“I saw what appeared to be post-mortem fluid. There was no response, movement, no signs of life, no respiratory efforts.”

Mr Swarbrick then left the caravan and returned moments later to find Miss Lawrenson still in the same position and showing no signs of life.

The paramedic said a combination of factors led to his diagnosis, such as the fact that he had knocked on the windows and doors several times and he had seen no movement.

Mr Swarbrick confirmed he had not touched his patient during the examination.

He had spent about one minute assessing whether Miss Lawrenson was breathing.

“I looked several times at the patient, not stepped over her as such, but moved around her," he said. "I was stood right next to her. In all honesty she looked like she had passed away, there appeared no signs of life.”

The condition of Miss Lawrenson, the odours in the room and the fluids surrounding the body also contributed to a diagnosis of death. Mr Swarbrick said the appearance of mouldy food in the kitchen and conversations with neighbours about not seeing her for several days were also tributary factors.

Mr Swarbrick said he could not recall whether his patient’s eyes were closed or shut at the time of examination.

He did not check her temperature, her pulse and didn’t check her pupils, the hearing also heard.

Having previously worked in a mortuary, Mr Swarbrick said he had extensive experience in dealing with deceased bodies and that Miss Lawrenson appeared to fit into that category upon examination.

Following the diagnosis of death, Mr Swarbrick left the scene to attend other incidents alongside colleague Michelle Briars, which the inquest had heard did not assess the patient herself.

Soon after, police officers PC Patsy Blakeborough and PC Andrew Crosby witnessed movement from Miss Lawrenson and called for an ambulance to return.

Paramedics arrived for the second time, 25 minutes after the call had been made by police. The delay was in part caused by the call being “incorrectly” classified as a green call - which requires paramedics to arrive at the scene as soon practically possible. Instead it should have been treated as a red call, which requires attendance within eight minutes.

NWAS say they have since made changes to the way calls are classified to remove the chance of human error.

The inquest also heard a do not resuscitate order was served on Miss Lawrenson, after doctors at Furness General Hospital decided any attempts to save her would not be successful.

Consultant paramedic for NWAS and the man in charge of the service’s investigation into Mr Swarbrick, Vincent Romano said: “The diagnosis was wrong, but Mr Swarbrick followed the procedure correctly.

“Unfortunately her body condition was so poor that Mr Swarbrick made the incorrect assumption she had passed away.”

He concluded in his report this was a rare case and in the same circumstances other paramedics would have made the same conclusion as Mr Swarbrick.

Following the incident, NWAS has changed its procedures for cases like this, by now adding a requirement for paramedics to make additional pulse and breathing checks.

Miss Lawrenson’s cause of death was liver failure caused by alcoholic liver disease. She had long had a problem with drinking.

She was declared deceased at 8.43pm at Furness General Hospital, with the cause determined as liver failure caused by alcoholic liver disease.