Struggle to clear girl's airway after rescue

An inquest into the death of a 13-year-old who was swept away from steps by the sea has heard there were several attempts to restore her breathing.

Edie Smart, from Monkseaton, North Tyneside, died four days after being pulled from the water in Whitley Bay on 24 July.

Newcastle Coroners' Court heard how previous attempts to clear her airway were unsuccessful and it could only be cleared once Dr Michael Penn from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) attended.

The family's barrister Andrew Scott has thanked those who tried and save Edie's life but said there is a belief there were potential "missed opportunities".

Penn told the hearing how conditions were challenging as the "sun was right behind us", but agreed appropriate equipment was being used by medical professionals already at the scene.

He said there had been "copious amounts" of sand, as well as vomit, which could not be removed from a suction device, prompting him to take over.

Although he said it is not normally GNAAS protocol to "take over" care while other professionals are attending, they made a "quick judgment call".

Scott, on behalf of the family, thanked Penn and said they "appreciate the difficulties the most senior paramedic had" to secure the airway, "and you achieved that".

A hearing on Tuesday shared how two ambulance support practitioners from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) were first on the scene, while waiting for a paramedic to arrive from a third-party company.

Tracy Collins and Carl Patterson administered life-saving treatment including CPR and tilting Edie's head, but were not authorised to use an I-Gel - a tube which keeps an airway open - as they were not paramedics.

The family thanked them for trying to save Edie's life.

Scott asked NEAS duty officer Jon Soppitt whether ambulance support practitioners could be trained in the use of I-Gels in an emergency situation, and he replied "they could".

Soppitt was also asked about third-party paramedic Zubair Mirza's previous statement that he did not realise there was not a paramedic working on Edie until four minutes after he started cannulating her arm.

Soppitt replied stating it is "obvious" who a paramedic is because of the epaulets on their uniforms, which state their role and are colour co-ordinated.

"I could see they weren't paramedics before I got there," he added.

The inquest also heard how barriers installed in 2020 to restrict access to the stairs were "easier to breach" by children than by adults.

Giving evidence, North Tyneside Council's John Sparkes was asked if he agreed the new barriers did not prevent access in the same way as the old railings.

"Both railings are scalable but one is more permeable going through, certainly," he said.

The council said following Edie's death a review of the barriers had been carried out but had found no recommendations.

Scott also raised concerns over the lack of "no entry" signs in the area.

Sparkes said the council had been following guidance from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which he claimed did not require signage in an area where there is a "foreseeable risk".

However, the coroner suggested this was "not necessarily" foreseeable to a 13-year-old, to which Sparkes replied "maybe not".

The inquest continues.

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