A nurse working in a prison has emotionally apologized to the family of Wayne Hunt, a disabled man who tragically passed away following an epileptic seizure in his cell. The nurse expressed regret, acknowledging he could have provided better care prior to Hunt’s death.

This poignant apology emerged during an inquest examining the circumstances surrounding Hunt’s death at Darwin Correctional Centre on August 29, 2024. Details revealed that after experiencing the seizure, Hunt became agitated and resisted the prison guards. In response, they forcefully restrained him, using a mattress for pinning, handcuffing him, and covering his head with a spithood.

Following this distressing episode, Hunt was transported in a wheelchair to the prison’s medical unit. However, rather than receiving a comprehensive medical evaluation, he was left unclothed on the floor of a cell designated for at-risk individuals.

Tragically, the 56-year-old was discovered unresponsive in this cell the following morning. He was immediately taken to a hospital, but despite efforts to save him, he passed away two days later.

The 56-year-old was found unresponsive in the cell the next morning and rushed to hospital, where he died two days later.

The nurse, whose identity has been suppressed by NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, said he and his employer, NT Health, failed in their duty of care to Hunt.

He agreed he failed to do medical tests on the new inmate as required under the jail’s epilepsy treatment guidelines.

As a nursing team leader at the prison, he said he was overloaded with other work amid staff shortages and was unable to do the tests.

The nurse told the inquest he was concerned at the rough handling of Hunt by the immediate action team, known as Ninja Turtles because of their body armour.

He said he was “non-confrontational” and lacked the confidence to ask the guards to stop roughly handling a disabled inmate who had just had an epileptic seizure.

Hunt had a prosthetic limb after losing his leg in a motorbike accident in 2008.

“When I get pushback from other people … I just don’t know how to push back,” the nurse told the inquest on Friday.

The nurse earlier said he asked prison guards to move Hunt to a resuscitation room for medical assessment, but was “brushed aside” by officers who put the inmate into a bare “at-risk” cell.

The nurse on Friday apologised to Hunt’s family, including his wife, Rhonda Phillips, sitting in the public gallery.

Before addressing them, he had to compose himself, using tissues to wipe tears from his eyes.

“I’m really sorry for this incident … I extend my condolences to the whole family. I could have done better in advocating for Hunt,” the nurse said.

“I missed that opportunity, given all the circumstances … I wish I could have done better.”

The nurse said he hoped there could be a better relationship between corrections and medical staff at the prison in future.

Hunt was only days into a sentence for dangerous driving causing death after he accidentally hit his ute’s accelerator and fatally crushed an 11-year-old boy against a wall at a supermarket in 2022.