A 71-year-old patient died three days after choking on his dinner at a Dublin hospital, an inquest heard yesterday. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.
Dublin City Coroner's Court was told the patient, who had been admitted for rehydration late on January 15th, 2001, was found collapsed in his bed in St James's Hospital four days later.
Mr Iobhar Campbell from Linwood, Dundrum, Dublin, had been sitting up eating his dinner when seen by a nurse a few minutes earlier.
Ms Martina Whelan, a nurse who walked into his ward at around 12.45 p.m., said she noticed his eyes were closed and his mouth was wide open, with food visible.
Along with another nurse, Ms Ann Louise Harding, who was appointed to ensure he was taking fluids regularly, they attempted resuscitation. They found his mouth was compacted with food and called for help.
Dr Conal Cunningham, a consultant geriatrician, said some food was removed from the patient's larynx.
"Unfortunately he would have been without sufficient oxygen to the brain for five to 10 minutes and suffered brain damage," he added. Mr Campbell never regained consciousness and died on January 22nd.
The coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said it was impossible to determine if the deceased had suffered a cardiac arrest which caused him to choke, or if he choked on his food and this brought on the cardiac arrest. He returned a verdict of misadventure.