In the second week of the inquest of Oliver Steeper at Maidstone Crown Court, the jury heard a statement from an expert in resuscitation, who raised concerns with the first aid that had been administered to the nine-month-old when he was choking.
While the nursery staff had used some good practice including ‘firm back slaps’ and calling for an ambulance, Professor Charles Deakin said that other guidelines weren’t properly followed.
In his statement read by coroner Katrina Hepburn, Prof Deakin raised concerns over the delay in identifying the seriousness of Oliver choking and that nursery manager Debbie Alcock inserted her finger into Oliver’s mouth when there was no obvious sight of food.
According to the Professor, the first aid guidelines at the time stated performing such actions could worsen the situation.
He also said that once Oliver turned blue and became unconscious, ‘conventional’ breaths in CPR should have been performed rather than sharp breaths as Alcock had indicated earlier she had performed on the nine-month-old.
Professor Deakin did acknowledge however that had a ‘higher standard’ of first aid been given to Oliver it might not have made a difference to the outcome.
The inquest previously heard from nursery practitioner Nazia Begum who said that her pediatric first aid qualification was out of date, along with some other members of staff.
On the day Oliver choked, Begum was feeding four children simultaneously. Asked if that was normal practice, she said, 'not really'.
Debbie Alcock, the manager from January 2020, previously told the court nurseries were only required to have one person first aid trained on site, but she wanted everyone to be trained, and was prioritising those with no previous training.
'More than half of Oliver's airway was constricted'
The court also heard that a ‘significant amount of food debris’ was found in Oliver’s airways after he choked.
An examination performed on Oliver by Dr Paul James, a consultant at the Evelina Children’s Hospital, found more than half of his airway was constricted.
Food was found in his main airways and both lungs.
When asked what the appearance of the food was that was found, he said it was a 'white soft gelatinous material' which was not easy to suction.
The inquest previously heard from Oliver’s parents that their son could not chew properly as he only had two front teeth and had been eating pureed meals at home, along with some finger foods.
However, nursery staff indicated that they had been feeding Oliver chopped, rather than pureed food.
A pathologist's report, read by coroner Ms Hepburn, concluded that choking led to Oliver suffering a cardiac arrest and 'unrecoverable neurological damage'.
The pathologist said Oliver had no underlying disease that predisposed him to a choking episode.
Oliver Steeper died in hospital six days after he choked on food.
The inquest continues.
