Spy's paramedic made an 'excellent medication dosage error'

A doctor working in a secret defense laboratory said a medic treating a former Russian spy “made a huge error in drug dosage.”

But while the mistake was “clinically beneficial” for Sergei Skripal, an investigation found, it made the process of diagnosing Novichok poisoning in Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia “incredibly difficult”.

The identity of the doctor, who works at the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) in Porton Down, Wiltshire, has not been published and is only mentioned by the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry with the cipher FT49.

Mr and Mrs Skripal were taken to hospital on March 4, 2018, after being found unconscious on a bench in central Salisbury.

The evidence was heard in the second week of an inquest into the death of 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess from Wiltshire, who died of Novichok poisoning four months after the Skripals incident.

The inquiry, which opened at Salisbury Guildhall on October 14 and is currently taking place at the International Dispute Resolution Center in London, will not take place today.

Over the last two days, the investigative commission has received evidence from the Intensive care Doctors responsible for the care of Mr. and Mrs. Skripal, and the First paramedic on sitewhile he is also the head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command Make a contribution at the beginning of the week.

The final witness to be heard this week was the anonymous FT49, who testified behind closed doors due to the secret nature of his work.

During his evidence, FT49 discussed details of a paramedic's response, which had been provided to the inquiry in written evidence earlier in the week.

Paramedic Karl Bullpitt, who attended to Mr. Skripal at the scene, described in writing how he first picked up naloxone – a drug used to treat an opioid overdose – and administered it to the former spy.

However, Mr. Skripal vomited before he could administer the medication, and in the rush to clear his airway, the paramedic overturned the medication bag in the ambulance.

After clearing his airway, he took the vials of what he assumed was naloxone and administered it to “good effect,” Mr. Bullpitt said, with Mr. Skripal becoming “a little more responsive.”

That influence, he added, “confirmed” suspicions that Mr. Skripal had suffered an overdose.

But when Mr Bullpitt returned to the outpatient clinic later in the day to refill the drug bag, he discovered there was no naloxone missing – meaning he must have administered another drug.

That's when he realized he had instead given Mr Skripal atropine, which is used to treat the symptoms of a low heart rate.

Discussing this in his testimony, FT49 said: “The accidental administration of atropine, yes, that was an excellent drug dosing error, and that, in turn, was clinically beneficial in maintaining Sergei's heart rate.”

“However, when you think about toxidromes, it makes your clinical diagnosis incredibly difficult at presentation.”

The Commission of Inquiry heard yesterday from the first two advisers who treated Mr and Mrs Skripal, including detailed information about how difficult it had been in the early hours and days to find out what had happened to the couple.

Dr. James Haslam, consultant anesthetist and critical care specialist at Salisbury District Hospital, told the inquest on Wednesday that the Skripals' symptoms were “too extreme” to represent “a normal presentation in recreational drug overdoses”.

The day after she was admitted to the hospital, he began to suspect it might be a nerve agent after recognizing her symptoms from material he had studied for an investigation years earlier.

The inquest is due to begin again next week, initially with evidence from Wiltshire Police detectives and then with further medical evidence.