OVERDOSE VICTIM IGNORED ADVICE, INQUEST HEARS

Doctor wanted man who took wrong dose of methadone to go to
hospital

Shortly after drinking a massive overdose of methadone at an Ottawa
drug treatment centre, Wade Hatt was advised by a doctor at the clinic
to go to a hospital for treatment.

But a nurse at the Somerset Street centre testified yesterday at an
inquest that Mr. Hatt did not heed the doctor's advice.

"He said he didn't want to go," said Natasha Stamplecoski, a
registered practical nurse.

Mr. Hatt, 41, took the inadvertent overdose about 2:30 p.m. on Friday,
Oct. 14, 2005. He was found dead the next morning.

Within minutes of the overdose, Ms. Stamplecoski said she told Mr.
Hatt to make himself vomit. She said he was able to regurgitate a
small amount by self-induced vomiting in the clinic's washroom.

About four hours after the overdose, Ms. Stamplecoski said she
telephoned Mr. Hatt to relay some medical instructions concerning the
overdose she had received from the clinic's on-call doctor. But she
was not able to pass on the instructions because the telephone number
for Mr. Hatt listed in the clinic's patient records was out of date.

"The female who answered the phone said Wade had not been there in
over a year," she said. "The number from the patient files was the
only number I had."

The jury heard that Mr. Hatt almost always went to the clinic with his
girlfriend, who was also receiving methadone treatment for drug addiction.

Her usual dosage was 160 milligrams. Mr. Hatt was steadily being
weaned off methadone. His daily dosage was only 15 milligrams at the
time of his death. He had never received more than a 90-milligram dosage.

Sandra Nault, a registered nurse at the clinic, testified that the
bottles of methadone she placed in front of Mr. Hatt and his
girlfriend that day had already been prepared at the pharmacy used by
the clinic.

Ms. Nault said she realized a mistake had been made when she saw Mr.
Hatt's name on the bottle being drunk by his girlfriend.

"I could see Wade's name through her fingers. As soon as I saw that, I
said stop," she said. "I realized an error had been made. I called the
doctor on call immediately."

She said Mr. Hatt had drunk most of the contents of the
bottle.

Ms. Nault testified that Mr. Hatt was well dressed and friendly when
he came to the clinic, and he was always respectful to the staff.

"I remember Wade giving me a high five and a big a smile as they left
the clinic," she said, wiping away tears.

George Dzioba, counsel to the coroner, asked Ms. Nault what she would
do differently.

"I would not serve two people at once," she answered.

Toxicologist Laura Gorczynski testified cocaine was also found in Mr.
Hatt's blood, in addition to the methadone overdose. She said the
cocaine was likely taken within 24 hours of Mr Hatt's death.

However, pathologist Dr. Brian Johnston testified an autopsy showed no
signs of chronic cocaine use by Mr. Hatt.

The inquest continues.