A doctor who was the first on the scene at a fatal stabbing has said he would not have done anything differently after his care for the victim was challenged by a top surgeon.
On the morning of Boxing Day 2020, 16-year-old Joseph Whitchurch was stabbed four times in the kitchen of an address at Hickings Lane in Stapleford.
He died on December 29 2020 after being taken to the Queen's Medical Centre via ambulance.
Jake Rollinson had been set to be sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (February 25) after being found guilty of his murder unanimously by a jury on September 1 last year, but the sentencing has delayed again.
The sentencing had previously been delayed because he was to be seen by a psychiatrist.
An inquest is ongoing in Joseph's death at Nottingham Council House.
The inquest was told on Wednesday (February 23) that two minutes away from the QMC, at 6.03am, the ambulance stopped and a thoracotomy (a surgical procedure where the chest is opened) was performed in the back of the vehicle, with his chest then stapled back together.
It was so an internal cardiac massage to help with circulation of blood could be performed, and was because blood had built up around the heart meaning there was a lot of pressure on it.
The vehicle was stationary for three minutes and 46 seconds, and arrived at the QMC at 6.10am.
Adam Brooks, a leading major trauma surgeon in Nottingham and director of the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre at the Queen's Medical Centre, questioned why Joseph was not taken straight to the QMC, and if a delay could have been avoided.
He says that while an SOP (standard operating procedure) was followed, other factors such as where they were and how far away they were from a major trauma centre should have been taken into account.
Assistant Coroner Elizabeth Didcock has said it would unlikely have made a difference in Joseph's case, but that it's important to consider for the future.
But Christopher Press, a volunteer doctor at East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme and was the first on the scene, and who treated Joseph in the back of the ambulance, has said he would not have done anything differently.
He said he did not see the stoppage as a delay, and Joseph's state was improved before reaching hospital.
Mr Press was driving from his home in rural Derbyshire to the start of his shift with the air ambulance on Boxing Day 2020 morning, and was driving past Nottingham when he was alerted about the stabbing.
He was only around two minutes away from the scene when he received the alert at 5.25am.
Mr Press wasn't yet on shift, but said he would be able to help and attended the scene at 5.30am when a police officer arrived.
They entered the property on Hicking Lane after being directed to the rear entrance by two distressed people, where they found Joseph lying on the floor "very sick and appeared to be in cardiac arrest", according to Mr Press.
"My initial plan was that a thoracotomy was looking to be likely," he said.
"I declared myself on the scene to air ambulance service so it would give the necessary people a chance to prepare equipment for that, and to let them know it's a significant incident."
More officers and responders then arrived.
Mr Press said: "I asked the responder to incubate so we had a definitive airway, and a bilateral thoracostomy (placing a tube between the ribs and into the chest to drain fluid or air from around the lungs) was performed.
"He started to show signs of life; the teaching is that's done, and then a reassessment before a thoracotomy."
Members of the ambulance crew at the scene agreed Joseph needed to be taken to the QMC as quickly as possible.
Mr Press can remember saying: "He still needs a thoracotomy, not from us but in hospital."
Joseph was loaded into the back of an ambulance at 5.56am and was on his way to hospital, but had not responded to the thoracostomy.
Mr Press said: "When that happens, that normally means you have a very sick patient.
"One of us said Joseph needed a thoracotomy, and my perception was we were halfway through a 12 minute journey."
He was asked by Miss Didcock if any other factors away from the SOP crossed Mr Press's mind, such as location and how far away from the emergency department they were.
Mr Press said: "Joseph was definitely suffering from a hypoxic brain injury (when the brain is starved of oxygen) at the point we stopped.
"He was on the cusp of life and death, and another 3-5 minutes without intervention could have caused permanent damage.
"I'm open to say I did not do everything perfectly, although in this case it would have not made a difference.
"The best chance for Joe would have been to open his chest, relieve the tamponade (fluid around the heart meaning it cannot beat as it should) if it existed, perform internal cardiac massage and assess if it was an injury I could do something about.
"I'm not doing major trauma centre's job for them, but enough to get Joe there alive so the people there can do their job.
"Chest compressions on a closed chest would have been a waste of time though, it would have been futile."
Miss Didcock then asked, when taking into account Mr Brooks' concerns, if he would have done anything differently, although conceded she was "in no doubt" it would not have changed the outcome for Joseph.
Mr Press said: "If we had carried on, this hypoxic brain injury could have carried on for another 5 minutes, so there is no definitive fix.
"I don't see it as a four minute delay as I opened the chest and released the tamponade, I'm improving the picture."
The inquest continues.
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