The East Yorkshire man was having lunch at a restaurant with care home staff and other service users when the tragedy happened
A coroner has suggested all restaurants should have anti-choking devices as part of their first aid kits after the tragic death of an East Yorkshire man who choked on a piece of meat and potato. Stuart Gilchrist, died age 77 in June this year.
He was taken by ambulance to Hull Royal Infirmary but sadly died the same day. While they were giving him emergency first aid, care home staff requested a suction device that can stop choking, but the restaurant did not have one and may not have been aware they existed and were “relatively inexpensive”, said the coroner.
In an inquest into his death, coroner Lorraine Harris found his death was accidental, caused by hypoxic brain injury due to choking. She has now written a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report, which was published this month.
On the day of his death, Mr Gilchrist was having lunch at a restaurant with care home staff and other service users. The coroner noted that his food was “cut up appropriately and he was in sight of staff during the meal”.
Tragically, Mr Gilchrist began to choke during the meal and “stood up from the table”. Staff were said to respond immediately and intervened with back slaps followed by abdominal thrusts, both of which were unsuccessful.
Emergency services were called. Care home staff began CPR and asked the restaurant staff if they had a first aid suction device known by the brand name ‘LifeVac’, but one was not available.
The coroner noted the devices are “available in many care homes but not necessarily available in restaurants”. When paramedics arrived, they used forceps and a laryngoscope to remove a large amount of potato and meat from Mr Gilchrist’s airway.
CPR continued and Mr Gilchrist was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary in an ambulance. Sadly, when he arrived at the hospital he was in cardiac arrest and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
As a result, Ms Harris recommends that restaurants and other establishments that serve food are made aware of the availability of the life-saving suction devices. She sent her report to East Riding Council, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Food Standards Agency.
In the report, Ms Harris concluded: “It was acknowledged during the inquest that restaurants have first aid items and some may have equipment such as a defibrillator however they may not be aware that this useful item exists, nor that it is relatively inexpensive.” The care home and restaurant were not named in the report.