Inquest hears how man choked to death on piece of food

A recent inquest in Ballaghaderreen has heard how a man who was attending a daycare centre in Castlerea choked to death on a piece of food despite the best efforts of staff who came to his immediate assistance.

An inquest was held into the death of Patrick Callinan (70), 12 Kilcoman Estate, Ballaghaderreen which occurred on January 4th, 2025 at Tithe na gCarad, Williamstown Road, Castlerea.

Coroner Brian O’Connor outlined that Mr O’Connor was sitting down for lunch that day and began to choke on a piece of food. Three HSE staff members were present and realised he was getting into difficulty.

They performed the Heimlich manoeuvre and when that failed to remove the object, they placed him on the ground and started CPR. Emergency services were contacted and an advanced paramedic later pronounced him dead.

In her deposition, Garda Helen Gillen attached to Castlerea Garda Station, said that she was on duty with Garda Liam McBrien.

They responded to a 999 call at Tithe na gCarad where it was reported that a man had choked on food and a paramedic at the scene had ceased resuscitation.

On arrival, she went into the kitchen where a man was lying deceased on the ground. She spoke with three staff members who informed her of the circumstances of the incident.

Garda Gillen observed a small plate of food comprising potatoes, vegetables and a chicken breast. She noticed a small piece of chicken breast missing from the corner.

In his deposition, John Heneghan, a psychiatric nurse for the last 21 years, identified the deceased. He had known Mr Callinan for more than five years.

Mr Heneghan said he had got to know him very well when the deceased was living at a house in Kilcolman, Ballaghaderreen.

He explained that on December 27th 2024, there was no heat in the house in Kilcolman because there was a fire in an outside boiler and it was no longer working.

Mr Heneghan contacted his manager and organised for Mr Callinan to stay in Tully’s Hotel until the boiler was fixed. He stayed in Tully’s and after his breakfast, a bus would bring him to the day centre at Tithe na gCarad and later drop him back to the hotel.

He said that Mr Callinan had been involved with the mental health team for a long time. “He had a mental health diagnosis of schizophrenia and he was able to have an insight into his own illness where he would not be able to drive his own car or say “he was not in a good place.”

On January 4th 2025, Mr Heneghan was off-duty and he got a call from Tithe na gCarad at 13.12 p.m.. He was told that Mr Callinan had a choking incident and that parademics were at the scene and that his file would be required. He later identified the deceased.

Depositions by staff at Tithe na gCarad read out at the inquest outlined that on that morning, Mr Callinan was brought down from Tully’s by a staff member to the centre around 11 a.m.. One staff member, in her deposition, said her initial impression of Mr Callinan was that he was “quiet, a big strong man, very chatty and polite”.

Mr Callinan was seated with five other residents at a table when one service user alerted staff, asking “Is he ok?”.

He was coughing and staff encouraged him to cough it up. He took a mouthful of a drink of orange but that didn’t help. He continued to try to cough and as he was seated, one of the staff tried to help him dislodge the food.

When asked to stand up, he pulled himself up from the chair and “was constantly trying to get the food up”. After Mr Callinan took a second drink, he began drooling from the mouth. Staff then asked the other residents to vacate the room.

One staff member started to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre - “abdominal thrusts” – while another rang the emergency number at 12.38 p.m..

One of the staff members performed the Heimlich manoeuvre three to four times. Mr Callinan became limp and they were advised by the emergency personnel on the phone to place him on the floor to perform CPR. “He was still blue when we placed him on the ground. They checked his mouth for obstruction but could not see anything,” said the staff member.

Staff continued CPR until the ambulance arrived 31 minutes later. The ambulance paramedics took over until 13.25 p.m.when they ceased CPR.

The consultant pathologist, who carried out the autopsy on the deceased at Galway University Hospital, said that internal examination showed that the main finding was a piece of meat 10 millimetre in size present in the trachea (windpipe).

She also revealed that there was another piece of meat present in the right lung, eight millimetres in size. The lungs were hyperventilated and congested. The pathologist believed that the cause of death was choking on a piece of food.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Brian O’Connor said that the cause was in accordance with the pathologist’s findings.

“Choking can occur suddenly without warning. Despite appropriate supervision and care, it’s not always preventable,” he said. Mr O’Connor said that HSE staff were present and came to his immediate assistance, performing the Heimlich manoeuvre.

“CPR was also performed by the advanced paramedics at the scene. Despite all these efforts, unfortunately Patrick died,” he said.

The coroner and Sergeant John Horkan, on behalf of An Garda Síochána, extended their deepest sympathies to his family.