Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra said he will be encouraging MHRA members to invest in first-aid training for their staff.

He gave his comments after the brother of a victim who died after she choked on a piece of meat publically urged restaurant owners to have their workers take up first-aid courses.

The woman, 57, died while having lunch at a restaurant on Tuesday. Her brother - Charles Selvaggi - wrote on social media that “we need to have people in public restaurants trained in first aid. My sister died choking on a piece of meat in a restaurant and it seems no one around was able to help her in the correct manner”.

On this point, Mr Zahra explained that there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome if all restaurants or hotels were to take up this suggestion. Many restaurants employ foreigners and most of them end up working for a short time, while not all restaurants employ a lot of workers.

He also said that whether the first-aid training will be done on site – at restaurants, hotels – or elsewhere will have to be discussed.