Arabic version: قاضي الوفيات يجد أن التأخير حرم ضحية جرعة زائدة من فرصة النجاة

According to ABC News, an ACT coroner found that bystanders deprived Canberra man Felipe Esteban Alvarez of “any chance of survival” by waiting hours to call an ambulance after he overdosed in 2021.

Mr Alvarez, 48, died after injecting heroin and methylamphetamine at his Taylor home in March 2021. A group including two off-duty workers from the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy, known as CAHMA, was present when he collapsed. Though he lost consciousness and stopped breathing, Triple Zero was not called for what Coroner Ken Archer found was probably several hours.

The workers had been trained to respond to opioid overdoses, including by administering naloxone, but neither had naloxone available. Mr Archer said Mr Alvarez should have received immediate medical help and found the group’s failure to seek it, along with misleading information provided to the ACT Ambulance Service, was “morally blameworthy”. He said the conduct showed “a chilling indifference to the possibility of a loss of a life”.

An autopsy found Mr Alvarez died from toxicity caused by methamphetamine and morphine, with an underlying heart condition contributing. The coroner said concern about possible police involvement was likely among the reasons help was delayed. The matter had previously been referred to prosecutors, who decided not to lay charges; Mr Archer said no fresh evidence warranted another referral.

The findings also raised public safety concerns about CAHMA’s peer-worker model and governance. Mr Archer found the organisation had not properly applied integrity processes, including Working with Vulnerable People registrations and criminal history checks for the two workers. He recommended reviewing overdose-response training so saving life is the primary goal, and strengthening collaboration with health agencies, ambulance services and police.