Medical staff at an Adelaide hospital used paper towel to record clinical notes for a patient who was suffering psychiatric side effects from his cancer treatment, a coronial inquest into the man’s death has heard. South Australian Coroner Mark Johns is investigating the death of James Nicholson, 65, who tried to kill himself at Noarlunga Hospital in August 2015. He never regained consciousness and died three days later in another hospital. The inquest was told that in December 2014, Mr Nicholson was prescribed a corticosteroid medication as part of his cancer treatment and about three months later his family noticed his behaviour was erratic, delusional and showed signs of paranoia. They took him to Noarlunga Hospital after he threatened to take his own life at home. In his opening address, counsel assisting the coroner Ahura Kalali said emergency department consultant Donald Hannam diagnosed Mr Nicholson with steroid-induced psychosis and placed him on a Level One Inpatient Treatment Order (ITO) which meant he would be under one-on-one supervision. “Dr Hannam informed the family that steroids can make people behave erratically and that this was not an uncommon side effect of the drug,” Mr Kalali said.
