Kylie Ashton did not know who advised Erin Patterson to attend hospital, court hears
Ashton tells the court about her interaction with Erin on 31 July – two days after the lunch.
Erin sat on the chairs near the nurses station, the court hears.
Ashton says she asked Erin what brought her to hospital:
She had told me she had been the fifth member of the lunch and she had consumed the meal that was prepared and that she had … diarrhoea and nausea since that occasion but not vomiting.
Ashton says Erin said she was advised to attend the hospital. But she says she does not know who advised Erin.
Ashton told Erin she may need to administer N-acetyl cysteine to her to protect her liver, the court hears.
The prosecution has called their next witness, Kylie Ashton.
Ashton was working as director of nursing at Gippsland Southern Health Service in July 2023, the court hears.
She was working at Leongatha hospital on 31 July.
Dr Veronica Foote tells court she warned Erin Patterson poisoning prognosis could include requiring liver transplant
Foote reviewed Erin upon her return to hospital, the court hears.
Under cross-examination, Foote agrees Erin complained of diarrhoea and abdominal pain and nausea.
She is asked about her evidence about Erin’s blood pressure and says it was at the upper level of a normal range.
Mandy asks Foote about her assessment that Erin “appeared to have a gastro-type illness” and she confirms this.
He turns to Foote advising Erin that her children – who she said had eaten leftovers of the beef wellington without mushrooms – should be tested. Foote agrees Erin wanted to pick up her children from school but she stressed the risks of doing so.
She says she discussed Erin commencing IV fluids, antibiotics and N-acetyl cysteine – a liver treatment, before she was transferred to Monash medical centre.
Foote agrees she warned Erin the prognosis of the poisoning could include requiring a liver transplant.
Dr Veronica Foote continues evidence
Dr Veronica Foote, who was working as a GP at Leongatha hospital in July 2023, is continuing her evidence.
Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy SC, is cross-examining Foote.
He asks Foote about Erin discharging herself from the hospital at 8.10am on 31 July – two days after the lunch.
She agrees that at 8.10am Erin said she would return to the hospital soon.
Mandy says at this point Foote discussed with Erin the possibility of her being transferred to a tertiary hospital in metropolitan Melbourne.
Foote says this was the advice given to the medical team but she cannot recall if she explicitly told Erin.
Erin later returned to the hospital at 9.48am, the court hears.
The jury is just coming into the room, so we should see the prosecution continue its evidence soon.
What we learned yesterday
While we wait for the trial to begin today, here’s a recap of what the jury heard yesterday:
1. Erin discharged herself against medical advice from Leongatha hospital five minutes after being told she may have been exposed to potentially fatal mushroom poisoning. The court was played a triple zero call made by Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha hospital on 31 July – two days after the lunch – to raise concerns about Erin’s health and safety after her discharge.
2. When Erin returned to hospital later that morning, Webster stressed the importance of her children – who she said had eaten leftovers of the beef wellington without mushrooms – being tested. He said Erin said they would be frightened. He replied “they can be scared and alive or dead”, the court heard.
3. Erin told her brother-in-law, Matthew Patterson, in a phone call at about 10.30am on 31 July – two days after the lethal lunch – that the mushrooms in the beef wellington had been sourced from Woolworths and an Asian grocer, the court heard. Webster said Erin told him the mushrooms in the dish had been sourced from Woolworths.
4. The court heard a written statement from Danielle Romane, an official at the state’s health department. She said a request to search the state’s cancer registry found no record of Erin having received a cancer diagnosis.
5. Gail Patterson’s daughter, Anna Terrington, said her mother reported the lunch at Erin’s house had gone “well”. She said they had spoken on the phone at about 5pm on the day.
Welcome to day eight of Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial.
We’re expecting today’s evidence to begin at 10.30am.
Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in Leongatha, regional Victoria, on 29 July 2023.
She is accused of murdering her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and the aunt of her estranged husband, Heather Wilkinson. The attempted murder charge relates to Heather’s husband, Ian.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The defence’s case is that the events were an accident and Patterson never intended to harm her lunch guests.
