Except for one nurse at one presentation noting the teenager’s temperature as “normal” and his pulse as “regular”, no vital signs were recorded until his fourth presentation, about 11am on 21 September.
By that stage, Braes was in severe pain, had a left knee and ankle that were swollen and dark, and required a wheelchair to move around.
A doctor who saw him an hour later during a rapid response said he was shocked by Braes’ condition and described him “as the sickest patient he’d ever seen at Broken Hill”, the inquest was told on Monday.
A panel of experts is due to tell the inquest the small-to-non-existent opportunity to save Braes’ life evaporated by the time he was sent home on Wednesday night.