The father of a young lawyer who choked to death last Tuesday has called for more public awareness about simple but effective first aid procedures that could have saved his son's life.

"A lot of people don't know what first aid is about," Victor Sultana told The Sunday Times.

Prof. Sultana's son, Robert, died after choking on food during a barbecue with friends. The criminal lawyer was 26.

"I was not there, but I'm sure that with better first aid knowledge, this might have been avoided... When it happens, people panic and don't know what to do," said Prof. Sultana, a retired doctor.

His call for better first aid knowledge was echoed by Jonathan Joslin, consultant at Mater Dei Hospital's Emergency Department, who said basic life support techniques should be included in the school curriculum and taught to children.

"We need to increase awareness about the importance of life-saving skills, even including them in the curriculum," he said.

Prof. Sultana learnt about what had happened to his son after receiving a call from the hospital last Tuesday, but by the time he got there it was too late. "If I had got the call from where it was happening, I would have rushed there, and perhaps saved him."

Robert was enjoying a barbecue with friends at a farmhouse in Dwejra, limits of Mġarr.

"He was always with these friends," his father said, thanking those who packed St Theresa Sanctuary in Birkirkara for the funeral last Thursday.

Describing him as "very happy-go-lucky", Prof. Sultana said his son loved to go out with friends. "That's what he was doing, at a barbecue, just enjoying himself," he said, his voice trailing off.

The last conversation he had with Robert revolved around the family dog, Bruno, an Eskimo malamute, as Prof. Sultana drove his son to work.

Later, when he returned home from work, the young lawyer was listening to music, one of his passions. Ironically, the last song he listened to at home was Zucchero's What a Wonderful Life.

The song talks about a person who goes to sea on his own. "No need to run and hide, it's a wonderful, wonderful life. No need to hide and cry, it's a wonderful, wonderful life."

Prof. Sultana said: "It seemed to be a sign he was not coming back,"

The second of three children, Robert was a big fan of classical music, particularly Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

"He was intelligent and didn't say much. He was always on Facebook and listening to music while at home," Prof. Sultana said.

A Facebook page in memory of Robert, created by his younger brother Kenneth, had accumulated more than 600 members by yesterday.

What to do

The best thing to do to try and dislodge something stuck in the air pipe is to cough, in the hope that whatever is stuck will come up, according to Dr Joslin.

Those around the sufferer should try and tilt him forward and slap the person on the back, between the shoulder blades, which could help dislodge whatever is stuck. As a last resort, the Heimlich manoeuvre can be performed, which involves performing upward thrusts on the sufferer's diaphragm from behind.

A definite no-no is to try to put a finger inside the victim's mouth since that increases the chances of pushing the object further in, which would probably make matters worse.

If the victim is a child, an adult should lay the youngster on his lap, with his head down to allow gravity to help, and tap him on the back.

If the food fails to be dislodged, then emergency services should be called at once.