Reminder not to ignore body’s warning signs after Rozel death

Friday 09 October 2020

A coroner has reminded islanders not to ignore warning signs that might suggest an underlying health problem following the sudden death of a man while swimming.

Relief Coroner Dr Martin Barrett made his comments at an inquest into the death of 55-year Andrea Piero Patrick D'Ulivo-Rogers, who suffered a heart attack while swimming in Rozel Harbour on 19 September.

Although he was living an active life with no obvious signs of ill health, Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers was found to have severe coronary heart disease and blocked arteries. The post-mortem examination also showed that he had suffered at least one previously undiagnosed heart attack and his arteries had been badly damaged by scarring. 

At the inquest, Dr Barrett also praised a group of islanders who had first recovered Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers from the sea and then worked tirelessly to save his life while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

The inquest heard that Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers was a regular sea swimmer and had gone for an early morning high-tide swim. Half-way between the slip and the pier, he was spotted face down in the water.

After raising the alarm, Piers Baker jumped into the sea and brought back Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers to the quayside. Joined by Lawrence Clark, Charles Woodrow, Ian Carpenter and Kenneth du Feu, the men administered CPR straight away.

Mr Du Feu took sole responsibility for providing rescue breaths to minimise any potential risk of covid transmission.

In thanking the men for their actions, Dr Barrett said that their failure to resuscitate Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers was down to the severity of his condition and in no way reflected their efforts to save his life. 

The inquest heard that Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers had received a yearly health check from BUPA, which had shown significant levels of cholesterol but the readings had not been high enough to warrant taking statins. 

Three months before his death, he had complained of lasting breathlessness on a walk and, more recently, he had felt a pain in his ribs but had not visited his GP. 

Concluding the inquest, Dr Barrett said it was important that people acted on their body’s warning signs by going to see their doctor. He also thanked Mr D’Ulivo-Rogers’ family for giving evidence and shared his sorrow at their loss.