Restaurants will soon have to make sure their staff are trained in first aid if they want to receive a seal of high quality from the tourism authority.

The news comes after a 57-year-old woman died when she choked over lunch in a restaurant last week and her brother called for staff in the hospitality industry to be given first aid instruction.

A spokesman for the Malta Tourism Authority said the authority believed personnel working in the industry should get this sort of training.

In fact, the MTA will be including the requisite for restaurants that want to be granted a Quality Assured Seal, in the next wave of applicants, he said.

The seal covers all types of restaurants that are committed to high levels of quality and professionalism, including those within hotels. It is not, however, obligatory.

We will hopefully manage to save someone’s life

On Wednesday, the woman’s brother, Charles Selvaggi, called for workers at establishments such as restaurants and hotels to be trained in basic first aid so they could deal with incidents of choking, heart attack, fractures or allergic reactions.

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association has also taken the suggestion on board and will be holding discussions about it. Its president, Tony Zahra, said that while the issue was not a priority before, something needed to be done given the recent incident.

“It’s a good idea to provide training,” he said. “However, we have to keep in mind we are in the hospitality industry and not the hospital business, so training has to be basic.”

Mr Selvaggi said the reactions of the MTA, MHRA and other entities has been positive. “There seems to be a strong interest in raising awareness and we will hopefully manage to save someone’s life.”

His appeal is not the first of the kind. In 2001, relatives of 20-year-old Roderick Refalo, who choked on a piece of meat in a restaurant, had appealed for at least one member of staff to be trained in first aid.

Nine years later, a young lawyer, Robert Sultana died after choking on food during a barbeque with friends and his father Victor had called for more public awareness about first aid procedures.

The MTA spokesman noted that the Occupational Health and Safety Authority already provided adequate training to staff working in establishments, so there were already people within the tourism industry who were trained in basic first aid.

Additional reporting: Claire Caruana.