Paramedic Administered Overdose Treatment to Former Russian Spy, Inquiry Hears

An inquiry has been informed that the initial paramedic who attended to a former Russian spy and his daughter following their poisoning with a nerve agent attempted to administer medication for a suspected opioid overdose. Ian Parsons provided first aid to Yulia and Sergei Skripal in Salisbury’s Maltings district on 4 March 2018, subsequent to their Novichok attack. Mr. Parsons stated he received a report via VHF radio indicating a female was “having a seizure.” He informed the inquiry investigating Dawn Sturgess’s death that the location was “well-known” within the community for its homeless population. Ms. Sturgess, aged 44, passed away four months subsequent to the assault on the Skripals, having been inadvertently exposed to Novichok eight miles distant in Amesbury, Wiltshire. The substance was hidden within a perfume bottle, which her partner had discovered and presented to her as a gift. Mr. Parsons, affiliated with the South Western Ambulance Service, reported that upon examining Ms. Skripal, she exhibited a “slow heart rate” and was “foaming at the mouth.” Her father was positioned nearby. He stated, “The area of the Maltings underneath Sainsbury’s is well-known in the local community as where homeless people reside and potentially some illicit drugs take place there.” He added, “Previously to the incident in Salisbury we had communication sent through to us that there was a highly toxic batch of fentanyl doing the rounds throughout the UK.” Mr. Parsons instructed his colleague, paramedic Louise Woods, to administer Naloxone to Mr. Skripal, a medication designed to counteract opioid overdose; however, the drug “did nothing.” Ms. Woods observed that Mr. Skripal was conscious and seated “bolt upright” on a bench. She recounted, “He did not recognise my presence at all.” Ms. Woods noted that Mr. Skripal had vomited, and she had inspected the vicinity for drug paraphernalia, yet she never contemplated the possibility of deliberate poisoning. She commented, “Not in a million years would I have thought about chemical (poisoning) in Salisbury.” As he was being transferred into the ambulance, she recalled, “his jaw suddenly started to clench down.” She added, “He started to make groaning sounds. It was like he was in pain but he could not tell us he was in pain.” Ms. Woods further stated that Mr. Skripal’s condition appeared “very odd,” despite him having “remained effectively inwardly very stable.” Dr. James Haslam, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, provided care for the Skripals starting on 5 March. He indicated that Ms. Skripal’s state was “worse than her father.” Upon admission, she could not breathe independently and was subsequently intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation. When Mr. Skripal arrived, he was breathing unassisted, but over time, he also became unable to breathe on his own. He remarked, “We couldn’t record their temperature because it was that low, and that’s despite active warming.” The inquiry remains ongoing.