Inquest: choking death of Cheshire Home resident was a "very tragic accident"

Wednesday 14 November 2018

An inquest has heard how a 68-year-old Cheshire Home resident died earlier this year after choking on a ham sandwich, despite all the efforts from staff to revive her, which were praised by the Ambulance Service.

Known as Judy, Veronica Judith Hickinbottom, a widowed mother-of-two, was taken to the hospital on 28 July 2018 when she collapsed after chewing on food, but died two days later in the Intensive Care Unit.

An inquest into her death held yesterday at Morier House heard that she had been living in Jersey Cheshire Home since 2014. Judy had been using a wheelchair since 2011, after suffering from two severe strokes which left her weak in the right side of her body. 

Judy was known among staff at Cheshire Home for eating very quickly. The inquest heard that she avoided social interactions where she could, rushing through her dinner to go back to her room. As a result, she had to be supervised during dinner time, and staff cut her food into small pieces.

Pictured: The Inquest into Judy's death was heard at Morier House.

One of Judy's doctors gave a statement describing her as "a charming and active lady," but adding that her personality had changed after her strokes.

On 28th July, Judy was eating with 17 other residents in the communal dining room, under the supervision of four carers and the kitchen staff. One healthcare assistant described how he had asked Judy to slow down during dinner. Another patient was reported to have pointed out that they had warned her that she could choke on her food if she wasn't careful.

Another healthcare assistant said that she noticed something was wrong when Judy wheeled herself away from the table, describing Judy as turning blue and becoming unresponsive. Another carer rushed to Judy and the pair tried to slap her back to get the food out. They then tried the Heimlich manoeuvre. Despite their efforts, they said they couldn't fully remove the obstruction, and began CPR.

Paramedics spent 30 minutes inside the home trying to resuscitate Judy and clear her airways. Sadly, she did not recover and died in hospital on 30 July 2018. Police Coroner's Officer Tony Forder described Judy's death as "a very tragic accident."

Staff were later commended by the Ambulance Service on their efforts to help her. One of them wrote in a statement: "We tried everything we could to help Judy." 

Dr Martin Barrett, the Relief Coroner, concluded that she had suffered irreversible brain damage after choking. He formally recorded Judy's cause of death as "hypoxic brain injury secondary to choking" before telling one of Judy's sons "how very sorry we are for your loss."