By Jennifer Cosgrove

A PERTHSHIRE dad has spoken of the moment his medical graduate fiancee saved his life when he choked while dining at a restaurant in Broughty Ferry.

Jamie Taylor (25) was celebrating at Spice restaurant on Tuesday with partner Claire Lomas (28), who graduated that same day from the Dundee University’s medical school.

The couple, who live in Errol with their son Kyle (2), were enjoying a curry at the Erskine Lane restaurant with friends and family when accountancy student Jamie began to choke.

He told The Courier, “I choked on a piece of chicken and went blue.

“I was close to being unconscious, but then Claire jumped up and did the Heimlich manoeuvre seven or eight times and the chicken came flying out like a bullet.”

He went on, “It was my fault. I didn’t chew the chicken properly. I was hungry and I just gulped it down.

“If Claire hadn’t been there and something like that had happened in the house, I would have been a goner.

“It lasted about five minutes. I felt the obstruction at the bottom of my throat. I coughed a lot but couldn’t shift it. Spice waiters came over to give me a glass of water and my sister-in-law was trying to get an ambulance.”

Thanks to Claire’s quick thinking, he did not require hospital treatment and the family continued to enjoy their meal—although he decided to skip the main course and go on to dessert!

“I was her first patient,” Jamie added.

Claire is due to start at Perth Royal Infirmary as a junior doctor and, after four months, will transfer to Ninewells.

Spice owner Mohammed Zeeshan said the restaurant was fairly quiet when the incident occurred, with just himself, the family’s table, one other table and members of staff.

“When he started choking, I ran towards the table to see what was going on, but his fiancee had dealt with it by the time I got there,” Mr Zeeshan said.

“I gave him something to drink and tried to make him comfortable. I just wanted to make sure he was OK.”

Mr Zeeshan said that, as the duty manager, he has also undertaken lifesaving skills, adding Mr Taylor took the whole thing in good spirit.

“I was joking with him about it afterwards as they continued to celebrate,” he said. “I’m sure he won’t forget this in a hurry.”

Helen Brady, co-ordinator of Heartstart Discovery, a charity that trains members of the public to deliver basic life support, said this was a great example of why lifesaving skills are so vital.

She said, “For teaching purposes, we’re not able to call it the Heimlich Manoeuvre, we call it abdominal thrusts—but it’s exactly the same manoeuvre.

“They are part of the skills we teach at Heartstart Discovery.

“They are life support skills, so if an emergency happens an ordinary person can help to save a life.

Mrs Brady said the training covers CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and choking.

When someone is unable to breathe, their heart might stop, which is why it’s so important to clear the breath-way.

“If someone’s not able to cough, there’s no movement and no air getting in or out. The man in the restaurant would have keeled over.

“It’s quite interesting, one of the scenes on the DVD that we show is a man choking in a restaurant on a mint,” she added.

“People choke all the time. It is something that’s easy to clear with back blows and abdominal thrusts.

“It’s not something the general public would think about but it’s something we should all be having a go at.

“It’s usually someone you know—a family member, colleague or friend.”

To find out more about Heartstart Discovery courses in Tayside call Helen Brady on 01382 740400, or Email her at helenjbrady@nhs.net