Ryan St George's family are still fighting for answers
Serious questions remain about sudden death in care
Friday, 12th January — By Anna Lamche
THE final hours of Ryan St George’s life still haunt his family.
They believe Mr St George slowly choked to death on food lodged in his throat while his carer slept – but fear they may never get the answers they are seeking.
Despite serious questions about what led to his death, there has been no coroner’s inquest into Mr St George’s death on July 11 2022.
At the time, he was under the care of United Care UK, an agency contracted by Camden Council.
He needed full-time care after a fall from a prison bunk-bed in the 1990s left him with catastrophic brain damage.
For almost 25 years this care had been provided for Mr St George by his family, and particularly his aunt Margaret.
But at the time of Mr St George’s death, Margaret, now aged 92, had been admitted to hospital following a fall of her own.
Camden’s social services stepped in to provide care for Mr St George.
Agency workers first arrived at his home in Holmes Road, Kentish Town, on Friday, July 8.
But by the Monday morning, Mr St George was dead.
Ever since, his family have been attempting to piece together the chain of events leading to Mr St George’s death that weekend, aged just 53.
According to a report produced by the London Ambulance Service (LAS), paramedics were called by Mr St George’s day carer shortly after starting her morning shift when she noticed her patient was “not drinking tea properly” and had “laboured breathing.”
Paramedics said they had to remove a “grey mass of soft food tucked to [the] right side of [his] oesophagus” before they could start resuscitation – a process delayed further by a “Do Not Resuscitate” order placed in error in Mr St George’s medical file.
When the ambulance arrived, Mr St George was still “warm to touch”, paramedics said. The family fear Mr St George spent the night slowly choking to death while his night carer slept.
The New Journal has seen bundles of documents connected to the case including an investigation by Camden Council after Mr St George’s death.
One said: “The LAS feedback stated that due to the large quantity of food removed from Mr St George oesophagus [sic], it indicated that he may not have been coping with the food the carers were trying to feed him.”
The report notes the council became involved in Mr St George’s care after concerns were raised about potential neglect by the family “due to lack of knowledge and understanding around the health and social care needs of Mr St George”.
The family reject claims they were unable to care for him and fear the coroner did not have access to all the information when deciding whether to hold an inquest.
His death certificate makes no mention of the food paramedics found caught in his throat.
“I want to ask how my nephew, Ryan St George, who I loved and looked after 24/7 for 25 years, suddenly died unexpectedly on July 11. We have not had any answers,” his aunt Margaret told the New Journal on Tuesday.
“Vulnerable Ryan had the right to life. So who choked him? He didn’t choke himself. He couldn’t even hold a spoon.
“Ryan had no problem eating if he was given small pieces and time before the next mouthful,” she said. “It didn’t take a [doctor] to care for him – just love.”
Mr St George’s sister Louisa vowed to “keep on fighting”.
Ryan and Louisa
A Camden Council spokesperson said: “These are very sad circumstances, and our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Ryan St George.
‘The council’s Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board has opened a Safeguarding Adult Review into Ryan’s death and are assisting the independent reviewer who is looking into exactly what happened and hopefully provide some closure for the family.
“As soon as the review is completed, we will update the family and respond to any recommendations that might be outlined in the report.”