A vulnerable man at risk of choking is thought to have died after being left to eat unsupervised, sparking a drastic retraining programme in Islington and Haringey.

The male victim, from Islington, was being looked after in a private care home in Haringey – but Haringey Council has refused to give any information about which care home he was at when he died.

He was not meant to be left alone while eating and Islington Council say they gave absolutely clear instructions, but the care provider in Haringey did not act on them.

It is alleged staff at the home did leave him unsupervised while eating, resulting in his death by suffocation.

A serious case review was launched following fatality in 2011, which was completed last year.

The new training required as a result of the review was detailed in an Adult Safeguarding report delivered to an Islington Council health and care scrutiny committee on January 13.

The document said “comprehensive training around choking has been set up” as well as a new system for the way vulnerable adults are moved between the boroughs – a senior manager must now be involved in the handover.

A spokesman for Haringey Council said: “Following this serious case review we have worked with our partners in Islington and Camden to ensure that all care staff are aware of best practice and offered additional training to reduce the risk of choking.”