THE senior doctor in Wagga Base Hospital's emergency department the night Justin Berkhout was brought in by ambulance after overdosing on tablets said yesterday he had not been given an orientation by Greater Southern Area Health Service (GSAHS) on its policies and procedures in dealing with mental health patients.

Dr Jeremy Allen gave evidence yesterday at the inquest into the death of Mr Berkhout, who hanged himself in a cubicle in the emergency department on July 5, 2007, and died six days later.

Dr Allen was a locum who was part-way through a second stint of a week of 8pm-8am shifts at the hospital on July 4.

He said he was considered the senior doctor on duty when he got to work because the other doctor on then was an intern.

Dr Allen said he could not recall if he was given policies on mental health by GSAHS.

He recalled Mr Berkhout being in the department for treatment for an overdose, but could not recall being told by the other doctor, Dr Clare Patterson, that Mr Berkhout should be scheduled.

He said he remembered Mr Berkhout had slept most of the night, and when he went off duty Mr Berkhout was eating breakfast.

During questioning by counsel for Mr Berkhout's family, Kirsten Edwards, Dr Allen said he did not feel the need to ring the hospital's on-call psychiatrist about Mr Berkhout during his shift.

"He was asleep, he was a voluntary patient, he was agreeing with care, so I did not see the need to ring the psychiatrist in the middle of the night. I don't think it would have changed the management of this patient," Dr Allen said.

He said there were no beds available for Mr Berkhout in the mental health in-patient facility, Gissing House.

"We had to manage him in the emergency department," Dr Allen said.

"So it's not a matter of you didn't want to get the psychiatrist out of bed?" Ms Edwards asked.

"No," Dr Allen replied.