Brunswick Gardens Village Sheffield: Coroner's concerns after man choked to death on food at restaurant

Brian Parry lived at Brunswick Gardens Village, on Station Road, in Woodhouse, Sheffield, and was dining at the restaurant there when he began to choke.

Staff administered back slaps, placed him in the recovery position and pulled the emergency cord to request assistance from additional workers.

But it was not until six minutes after the emergency cord had been activated that one of those additional employees called the emergency services.

Staff gave the 88-year-old CPR, as instructed by the emergency services, but when paramedics arrived he was not breathing.

Paramedics removed the food from his airways and began advanced life support but he could not be saved and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene on November 3, 2021.

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At an inquest into his death, concerns were raised about the time taken to call the emergency services, though it could not be said whether doing so sooner would have saved him.

Tanyka Rawden, assistant coroner for South Yorkshire, has now written to bosses at the retirement village, calling for urgent action to prevent future deaths.

“I am concerned that unless staff are trained to call the emergency services immediately, further delays will occur in the administration of potentially lifesaving treatment,” she wrote.

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“I am concerned that when the emergency cord was pulled, the request for assistance want to care staff who were between one and four minutes away from the restaurant rather than to all staff, some of whom were near by.”

She also expressed concerns that although all staff had basic first aid training, evidence suggested they were not all confident using that training.

She concluded: “It is my opinion there is a risk that future deaths may occur if these concerns are not addressed.”

Ms Rawden wrote to the retirement village in July, requesting a response within 56 days, but her report has only just been published.

A spokesperson for The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, which runs Brunswick Gardens Village, said: “We send our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr Parry. We can confirm that a full response has been provided to the Coroner covering all the recommendations.

“Whilst terrible occurrences such as this are incredibly rare, we take our responsibilities very seriously and ensure that learnings are taken so that improvements are made.”