A probe is to be held into the death of a man who died in a Scottish care home after choking on that was not appropriate for his dietary requirements.
Robert McPaul, 70, died in the now-closed Sir Gabriel Wood’s Mariners’ Home in Greenock in March 2018 and a Fatal Accident Inquiry will now be held.
The FAI will explore the circumstances of Robert McPaul’s death, with particular focus on control and supervisory measures in relation to dietary requirements during meals.
Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on death investigations for COPFS, said: "The death of Robert McPaul occurred in circumstances giving rise to significant public concern and as such a discretionary Fatal Accident Inquiry should be held.
"The lodging of the First Notice enables FAI proceedings to commence under the direction of the Sheriff.
"Mr McPaul’s family will continue to be kept informed of significant developments as court proceedings progress."
READ MORE: Greens will snub King Charles' Scots coronoration for republican rally
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has lodged a First Notice to begin the court process and a preliminary hearing is set for July 19, 2023, at Greenock Sheriff Court.
Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature, and are used to establish facts rather than to apportion blame.
The historic former Sir Gabriel Wood's Mariners' Homem, an A-listed 43-bed care facility, closed in 2021 and was later sold by the Sailors' Society to London-based Torah Capital Limited.
READ MORE: Norwegian government has refused to comment on return of Orkney
Mariners’ Home had been operated as a care home for ex-mariners and seamen since it was founded in 1850 by Sir Gabriel, a commissary general born in Gourock in 1767.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel