John Fallon

“The inquest heard evidence that although he needed his dentures to chew in a satisfactory way, SALT assessments are not routinely carried out where an individual goes from eating with dentures to eating without dentures. As a consequence the diet is not routinely altered in a 1 care home setting to reflect the reduced chewing capacity”

“Evidence was also heard that the limited availability of dental services to care home residents means that situations where dentures require updating/replacing are not being dealt promptly which means there is a greater risk of choking on food that has not been adequately chewed”

“NWAS used a suction machine to clear the airway on their arrival. The inquest heard evidence that these are not routinely in place at care homes and so if a resident is choking food cannot be suctioned out by staff”