Senior doctor gives evidence about Alex Braes' final hours on day two of inquest

An inquest into how a Broken Hill teenager died from an infected toenail has heard his condition deteriorated rapidly in his final hours. Key points: The Coroner's Court hears evidence about Alex Braes' medical treatment in his final 12 hours A senior doctor says the 18-year-old was "compensating well", making it harder for medical staff to assess him The inquest hears the Royal Flying Doctor Service had difficulty finding a suitable pilot due to aviation regulations Alex Braes died on September 22, 2017, with a suspected flesh-eating bacteria known as necrotising fasciitis ravaging his system, after he was turned away three times from Broken Hill Hospital’s emergency department. Dr Randall Greenberg on Wednesday spoke at length in the New South Wales Coroner's Court about Mr Braes' condition, and issues that prevented the RFDS from transferring him to Sydney or Adelaide sooner. Dr Greenberg told the inquest that he first saw Mr Braes about 2:00pm on September 21, 2017, and from that moment on "I was the team leader". The veteran clinician and patient-retrieval specialist, who has 36 years' experience, said he believed, in hindsight and now that he was "aware of the outcome", that there were a number of "ifs" — including if Mr Braes had been taken to Adelaide instead of Sydney.