Restaurants should stock anti-choking equipment in their first aid supplies, a coroner has advised, after a pensioner choked to death while dining out.
Care home resident, Stuart Gilchrist, 77, passed away in June this year after choking on meat and potatoes at a restaurant.
On the day of his death, he was out enjoying a trip with other carers and service users in one of his favourite restaurants. But the meal ended in tragic circumstances, when he stood up during the lunch, choking and clearly unable to breathe.
The carers quickly spotted his demeanour change and immediately stepped in to assist him with appropriate first aid in the form of back slaps and abdominal thrusts. But despite their efforts, Mr Gilchrist collapsed and was promptly given CPR.
One of the care staff had the quick-thinking to ask the restaurant if they had a suction device, which can help unblock trapped items within someone’s airways, but they did not have one to hand.
This device is commonly used in care homes but are not widely available in restaurants, despite their life-saving value. The coroner warned 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.”
After several unsuccessful CPR attempts to resuscitate him, they called the emergency services. Once the paramedics arrived, they were able to remove a large amount of potato and meat from Mr Gilchrist’s clogged airway using specialist medical equipment.
With continued CPR on route, he was then rushed by the ambulance to Hull Royal infirmary, where he later suffered cardiac arrest and died that same day from hypoxic brain injury.
At a subsequent inquest, coroner Lorraine Harris, ruled the death was accidental, due to choking, and has issued a report in Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) this month. She appealed to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to make food establishments aware of the availability of these life-saving suction devices.
The coroner noted that Mr Gilchrist had a medical history of swallowing issues following a period of ill health in Autumn 2024. However he was medically deemed suitable for a normal diet by December 2024 and discharged from Speech and Language Therapy service (SALT) whom had previously advised re-dieting, at the start of this year.
However Mr Gilchrist did have an incident where he had choked on bacon sandwich in May 2025, a month before his death. Although medical assistance was sought during this time he was not required for re-referral to SALT.
