An Avoidable Occurrence

When endeavouring to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the risks of eating and drinking food and fluids that are not suitable to their current swallowing function, I’ve been met with vastly different responses.

One staff member, with many years’ experience in aged care, reported only ever seeing one resident choke. This was apparently due to the resident ‘stuffing her mouth with wafers’. Even those of us who don’t have swallowing issues may have choked on that snack. We certainly would have coughed a great deal.

Coughing is the protective mechanism the body uses to stop food or fluid going into the lungs instead of the stomach. A very clever design. 

The other end of the scale was reported by a facility manager whose staff had been devastated by a similar incident and who have been on an earnest search for education to support their staff, to avoid any recurrence of this kind.

This gentleman had a significant disability that prevented him form eating a normal diet. His food had been modified for him, but he insisted on visiting a local café when family came to visit. There he ordered hot chips. I know the ‘pull’ of regular food that he’d been missing out on due to a pureed diet being safest for him, is enormous and totally understandable. Everyone deserves to enjoy themselves. 

Distressingly for him, his family and staff who accompanied him to the café, they witnessed a very serious and public choking incident. The staff managed to save his life, but here was an enormous emotional cost to this gentleman, his family and staff.

Exposure to a choking incident is extremely distressing and can stay with you indefinitely. Even if only one resident, loved one, staff or family member, can be spared this nightmare, surely it’s worth the investment. Take the Course