Investigation and inquest
Robert Lloyd died on 30th July 2016 at the Royal Cornwall Hospital after being airlifted from the Isles of Scilly. A post mortem was undertaken and the cause of death was found to be due to drowning. A significant amount of alcohol was found on post mortem toxicology (280mg/100 mL). An inquest was opened on the 15th August 2016 with the inquest heard on the 19th October 2016.
Circumstances of the death
Robert Lloyd went swimming in the sea at Porthcressa Beach, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly with a friend on 30th July 2016 at around 17.10 pm. They swam for around 20 minutes when Robert returned to the shore. When he was waist deep, he was seen to stop moving/swimming and float face down in the water. He was pulled to the shore and resuscitation attempts were commenced. The air ambulance arrived and transferred him to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Tresiliske, Truro where he was recognized dead. He was alcohol dependent and post mortem blood alcohol analysis found the blood alcohol (280 mg/100 ml) at a level which was likely to have affected his cognition.
Coroner’s concerns
At the inquest evidence was read from the GP and Addaction as to Mr Lloyd’s abuse of alcohol and the difficulty in providing supportive treatment for alcohol abusers on the Isles of Scilly. It was acknowledged that due to the island's location and with limited air and boat services after the termination of the helicopter service some years ago, the support was limited. This has meant that the service users on the Islands have had limited face to face support and had to rely of video link support due to the inability of alcohol support professionals to travel to the Islands in bad weather. This had led to a difficulty in engaging with this group of users.
Mr Lloyd’s mother, at inquest explained how the reduction in service (on the termination of the helicopter service) had affected her son and made it more difficult for him to control his drinking habit especially on a small island with a strong alcohol drinking culture. In the past he had access to face to face alcohol reduction workers and he was able to attend (for a small travel fee) the Alcoholics Anonymous group on the Main Land.