Man dies after choking on milkshake

A pensioner died after choking on a milkshake at his care home near Pontypool. An inquest into his death at Gwent Coroners' Court heard how he was not at risk of choking and there had not been an omission in his care. Raymond Lewis, from Newport , had been living at The Retreat in Abersychan since 2017. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and autism and received ongoing care and support through Cariad Domiciliary Support Services Ltd. An inquest heard how on January 3, 2026, Mr Lewis started to cough as he was drinking a prescribed milkshake. The carer tapped him on the back and the coughing stopped and it didn't appear as though Mr Lewis was in distress. Never miss a Newport story by subscribing to our newsletter here . The carer then took 74-year-old Mr Lewis to the bathroom where he began coughing again and couldn't breathe properly. He collapsed and emergency services were called to the supported living residence. Despite all attempts to resuscitate Mr Lewis he couldn't be revived and paramedics confirmed he'd died at 7.04pm. A post-mortem examination carried out by pathologist Dr James Harrison concluded Mr Lewis had died from the aspiration of gastric contents. He said while coughing Mr Lewis had regurgitated and then inhaled foods or fluid already in his stomach. Dr Harrison gave his medical cause of death as occlusion of the airways by gastric contents. Senior coroner Caroline Saunders found Mr Lewis was not determined to be at risk of choking and said there had been no omission of care which had contributed to his death. Ms Saunders found that Mr Lewis died from the effects of choking and ruled his death as misadventure. She passed on her condolences to his family. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .