Ethan McGreevy (8), described as \u201chappy-go-lucky\u201d, passed away in September 2022.<\/p>\n
The coroner said parents should strongly consider the risks associated with hot tubs before installing them at their homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren can get into danger in very little water, with little or no indication that something is wrong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ethan was diagnosed in 2019 with epilepsy and a year later was diagnosed with a learning disability and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He was non-verbal but would communicate in other ways.<\/p>\n
The coroner said: \u201cHe would communicate through objects, such as pointing to his wetsuit to indicate that he wanted to use the hot tub, or a plate to indicate he was hungry.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis father said he loved to play with sticks and would pick them up and tap them against objects to hear how they sounded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hot tub was installed in August 2021 and was situated in a decking area in the garden to the rear of the family home on Mount Eagles Close, just outside Dunmurry.<\/p>\n
Gavin McGreevy was caring for his son on August 30, 2022, whilst his partner, Nicola Toner, was at work.<\/p>\n
The coroner said: \u201cMr McGreevy said Ethan was in amazing form that day, as the family had just got a pet dog the previous day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in the hot tub before dinner and before Ms Toner returned home from work.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe explained that Ethan loved to use the hot tub and although he could not swim he was confident and content in water.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Ethan\u2019s mum, Nicola, arrived home from work, Mr McGreevy then went upstairs to rest. He said he was unaware that Ethan had got back into the hot tub after dinner.<\/p>\n
The coroner explained that Nicola\u2019s recount of the events pointed out that \u201cafter his dinner Ethan had a shower and then wanted to get back into the hot tub.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she was in and out of the back garden playing with the new dog and had gone back into the kitchen where she could see Ethan playing and splashing in the hot tub.\u201d<\/p>\n
The inquest heard how Ms Toner observed that her son had gone quiet but believed he was still playing.<\/p>\n
Eight to 10 minutes later, upon discovering her son in difficulty, Ms Toner carried him into the home and started performing CPR while Mr McGreevy called the emergency services.<\/p>\n
The call was recorded at 7.57pm and an ambulance arrived at 8.07pm to transport Ethan to the Royal Victoria Hospital For Sick Children.<\/p>\n
In the ambulance, he was administered adrenaline and a heartbeat was re-established. However, after suffering what the doctors noted was \u201cirreversible brain damage\u201d which was \u201cincompatible with life\u201d, he passed away three days later on September 2, 2022.<\/p>\n
The coroner said: \u201cMr McGreevy opined that Ethan must have had a seizure while he was in the hot tub, as this was the only explanation that made sense to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrior to his diagnosis of epilepsy, he would have had seizures which would have taken place once or twice a week. However, this decreased with appropriate medication after his diagnosis in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Toner, however, said that she did not believe Ethan had had a seizure.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said she would have known that a seizure was imminent because he could communicate in some way that he wasn\u2019t well,\u201d said the coroner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn her view, Ethan would not have got into the hot tub if he was feeling unwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe opined that Ethan\u2019s death was due to a sudden unexplained death in childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her conclusions, the coroner said the pathologist\u2019s findings did not provide enough evidence around whether Ethan died due to a seizure or drowning, or a combination of both.<\/p>\n
The coroner said Ethan was a \u201cvulnerable child\u201d whose parents were \u201cloving and attentive\u201d and \u201cprioritised his care and wellbeing\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said it was \u201cnot possible\u201d to determine how long Ethan was unresponsive in the hot tub due to \u201cconflicting accounts\u201d from witnesses.<\/p>\n
After his death, Ethan\u2019s parents consented to the donation of his organs. The coroner praised their \u201ckindness and selflessness in such difficult circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan\u2019s tragic death highlights the dangers and risks associated with children using hot tubs without constant direct supervision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan\u2019s parents were falsely reassured by his ability to stand up in the hot tub, with the water level being at his waist height, and his confidence in water.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough Ethan was only without direct supervision for a number of minutes, this was enough time for him to become submerged in water and unresponsive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would urge all parents of young children to carefully consider the risks associated with hot tubs before installing them at their homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, it is clear that children can get into danger in very little water, with little or no indication that something is wrong.\u201d\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ethan McGreevy (8), described as \u201chappy-go-lucky\u201d, passed away in September 2022. The coroner said parents should strongly consider…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[8819,2378,1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-12890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-amy-cochrane","9":"tag-belfast","10":"tag-northern-ireland","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114323486418765813","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}