Boy, 7, dropped dead in front of shocked schoolmates

An inquest held at Warrington Coroner's Court heard that 7-year-old Patryk Milner suffered a cardiac arrest while at school in September 2020, collapsing in front of shocked school mates, subsequently dying three days later in hospital.

His teacher David Ellis described how the sad events unfolded: "We had just finished the first lesson and I asked the children to pack away.

"At this point, Patryk was probably on the second row of the classroom. He leaned across the desk and his arm outstretched. I thought he was trying to get my attention for his sore throat.

"I asked if he needed help but he didn't respond. He still had his arm outstretched in front of him. I noticed he was shaking. I repeatedly asked him if he was OK but he didn't respond.

"I went over to him and I was worried he was about to faint. I lowered him off the desk, off his chair, and onto the floor. I put my hand on his chest and felt his heart was pounding."

The school had a defibrillator which after analysing his heart said a ‘shock’ was unneeded and people should continue to provide CPR.

The coroners heard that the North West Ambulance service received a call at 09:49 with paramedics arriving shortly after 10:00 at Offley Primary Academy.

Patryk was taken to Leighton Hospital and then transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Doctors managed to restart his circulation but the damage caused to his brain by being in cardiac arrest was too severe.

He died at Alder Hey on October 2, 2020.

Senior coroner for Cheshire Alan Moore, at the inquest held at Warrington Coroner's Court on Tuesday, concluded natural causes led to Patryk's death – with an undiagnosed sudden cardiac dysrhythmia laid out as the medical reason of his collapse.

In a statement read out by Mr Moore, Patryk's mum Agnieszka Aggie said her son was a "healthy and fit child" who loved sport and had no known persistent underlying conditions.

She said: "When I dropped him off at school, he seemed well and there was nothing I saw in his behaviour that gave me cause to think otherwise.

"Andrew [Patryk's dad] and I are totally devastated by the unexpected and sudden loss of our son. No parent ever expects to be in this position."

She said Patryk had been suffering from a sore throat for 10 days that had been diagnosed as a "viral infection" and required no medication.

His throat was still sore on September 30. However, having no other symptoms or issues, he was able to attend school.

Dr George Kokai, who carried out the post-mortem, initially concluded in his report the medical cause of death was "unascertained".

However, Dr Michael Bowes, a consultant paediatric electrophysiologist who specialises in heart conditions in children, gave evidence that suggested it was "more likely than not" Patryk died as a result of an undiagnosed cardiac dysrhythmia, which could have been genetic.

Dr Bowes described it as a "horrible sneaky condition" as it often presents no obvious signs or symptoms.