The death of a former prison inmate in hospital was precipitated by him secreting drugs despite attempts by prison staff to restrict him, a coroner's court has heard.
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Deputy State Coroner Hawkins is overseeing the investigation into the overdose of prescription medication of Greg Sedgman, 42.
He was on a post-sentence supervision order requiring him to reside at Corella Place, a special unit outside the Ararat prison. Residents of Corella Place are deemed not to be in custody or serving a sentence. However, they are subject to conditions including restrictions on their movement and associations, and must participate in rehabilitation programs.
Leading Senior Constable Ward said Mr Sedgman was placed on the order on July 25, 2011, for five years and renewed on December 5, 2016, for another four.
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In 2013, Mr Sedgman spent time living in crisis accommodation provided by Bendigo's Haven;Home Safe where he developed a friendship with a teenage girl in contravention of his release conditions, including paying her to clean his unit, in breach of supervision orders.
In the final years of his life, the deceased suffered from several medical conditions, including a cancerous tumour that required ongoing chemotherapy via oral tablet.
Mr Sedgman was also undergoing treatment for depression.
"At the time of his death, however, Greg was not thought to be in a depressed state," LSC Ward said. "By all accounts he had a positive outlook for the future and was in good spirits during the days leading up to the present and his death."
On August 10, 2018, Corella Place staff searched his unit after allegations he was on-selling prescription medication to other residents.
"A significant amount of medication was located and confiscated by staff," LSC Ward said. "(Mr Sedgman) was issued with a written instruction on August 10, 2018 ... that he must provide all medication - both prescription and non-prescription medication, including Panadol - to a supervision officer."
Mr Sedgman attended each day of the administration building to collect his medication; staff were present and signed a log sheet for record-keeping.
On Sunday, September 23, about 7.13pm, Mr Sedgman and a fellow resident attended the facility to collect his medication from two staff members. While the second resident spoke to an officer, Mr Sedgman was left alone with the duty specialist caseworker.
LSC Ward said during the ensuing conversations Mr Sedgman was unobserved and was able to collect more medication than his prescribed dosage, taking an entire bottle of antibiotics and an unknown amount of Endone.
Mr Sedgman's final hours
During the evening, Mr Sedgman returned to his unit and consumed an unknown quantity of the medication he'd collected from the administration building with other residents. The curfew came into effect at 8pm.
The court heard Mr Sedgman remained active in his unit for some time into the evening. He was seen on CCTV coming outside his unit on three occasions where he was met on his porch and appears to have exchanged items with other residents at 2am and again between 5am and 6am.
The resident sharing the unit with the deceased woke up briefly and heard him snoring; he did not check Mr Sedgman as he believed he was sleeping.
At 9.30am on September 24, 2018, the resident woke and found Mr Sedgman sitting cross-legged on an armchair in front of the TV. He had his head tilted back and was still snoring. At 10.30am, another resident came to the unit and tried to wait for Mr Sedgman, who was still snoring. They assumed he was still heavily sedated.
By all accounts he had a positive outlook for the future and was in good spirits during the days leading up to the present and his death.
- Leading Senior Constable Ward
At 12.28pm, residents alerted staff. The staff members attended Mr Sedgman's unit and noted he was pale and clammy. The staff called for help and called triple-0. Staff utilised a defibrillator before performing CPR until Ambulance Victoria arrived about 1pm.
At 1.35pm, Ambulance Victoria transported Sedgman to hospital, and his unit was locked and secured by Corella Place staff. Officers from the Ararat-based supervision order specialist response unit attended and took statements and conducted a search of the housing unit.
Officers discovered an empty box of Endone in a bin near Mr Sedgman and an empty bottle of Valium in his bedroom. Throughout the next week, Mr Sedgman was treated in ICU but did not regain consciousness. His life support was turned off, and he was pronounced dead on September 30, 2018.
An autopsy was conducted at the Victorians Institute of Forensic Medicine by specialist, forensic pathologist Dr Paul Bedford.
The court heard Mr Sedgman's death was deemed to be from complications post polypharmacy toxicity.
The investigations found no evidence of violence, intended self-harm or suicide, foul play or direct physical involvement from any other party.
The hearing continues.
- Lifeline - 13 11 14
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