An elderly woman of 94 who held a longstanding fear of choking tragically lost her life after choking on her meal at a nursing home in South Dublin. This distressing incident was discussed in the Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Tuesday.
Margaret Browne was a resident of the Ailesbury Nursing Home in Sandymount at the time of her unnecessary passing on November 5th. Caitríona Browne Caldeira, her daughter, learned of her mother’s death via a phone call from the nursing home, after she had returned home to Drogheda, Co Louth. She had visited her mother just a few hours early that day and was shocked by this unexpected misfortune, as her mother had appeared in high spirits that day.
Although there had not been any past cases of choking with Ms Browne and she wasn’t categorised as a high-risk patient, Ms Browne Caldeira stated that her mother had an intense fear of choking.
The inquest heard from nurse Clinton Gonzales, who was summoned to the dining room when Ms Browne started choking on her meal of chicken and chopped vegetables, prepared thoughtfully to enable her to eat unassisted. Ms Browne was evidently fighting for breath and had a spoon in her hand when he arrived.
Ms Browne was then moved to her personal room away from her co-residents for treatment. However, her respiratory condition worsened. Family members questioned why emergency treatment wasn’t administered in the dining hall itself for urgency purposes. Mr Gonzales argued that providing treatment in her personal room, away from the concentration of 15 individuals was a safer option.
Despite efforts, emergency services weren’t able to save Ms Browne. The Heimlich maneuver was used with no success. There was also an attempt to use a suction device present on site, but to no avail.
Upon Mrs Browne’s cessation of breath, an emergency resurrection process was conducted despite a “do not resuscitate” order, on the directive of emergency services for around 15 minutes. However, Mrs Browne was subsequently declared deceased at the location by paramedics from the Dublin Fire Brigade, revealed the hearing.
Following the tragedy of Mrs. Browne’s demise, a review was initiated, informed Alison Woods, nursing director at Ailesbury Nursing Home. While according to her the situation was handled as effectively as it could be, she did acknowledge a requirement for enhanced staff communication. Moving Mrs Browne from the dining area before beginning life-preserving measures was the correct course, given her room was not far, she defended. Expressing empathy towards Mrs Browne’s relatives, Woods expressed, “I recognise your distress, I apologise for your ordeal”.
A verdict of accidental demise was given by Coroner Aisling Gannon and she noted the medical cause as asphyxiation from food and an amyloid cardiomyopathy. Masses of amyloidosis, a seldom found geriatric disease, usually diagnosed only postmortem were found. Gannon noted that while uncertain, it seemed plausible that Mrs Browne’s pre-existing heart condition could have been a contributing factor to her choking incident and resulting demise.