Little boy, 4, died on first night he slept in new bed after his head became stuck

A four-year-old boy died after his head became lodged in a new medical bed the first night he slept in it, an inquest has heard.

Little Ethan Wade was discovered face down, unresponsive and floppy by his father at their home in Chatham, Kent, the following morning. The youngster, who was non-verbal and had cerebral palsy, was using a specialist Olaf bed for the first time. The inquest heard Mr Wade had been preparing school lunches before going into Ethan’s room, on July 1, 2021.

The dad pulled Ethan free and yelled to the boy’s mother, Jessica Gardiner, who dialled 999 before administering CPR as she was given instructions by the ambulance operator. Paramedics took over, “scooping” Ethan to their ambulance where they continued resuscitation with help from a critical care worker for about 25 minutes.

After a heartbeat was detected, Ethan was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital accompanied by his mum. He was transferred to King’s College Hospital in London later the same day but his condition deteriorated and he died four days later.

Dr Virginia Fitzpatrick-Swallow, a Home Office forensic pathologist, recorded the cause of death as hypoxia, a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain and consistent with entrapment. She noted the nose and mouth had been covered resulting in a “degree of smothering”.

Red ladder stripe marks on his neck and collarbone could have been caused by the “puckering” of the mattress, she added. Dr Fitzpatrick-Swallow said on a video call to the inquest: “There was no underlying independent, natural disease that would explain respiratory arrest.”

After raising the alarm at around 8am, a police officer arrived at the three-bed specially-adapted family home wearing body-worn video to record his visit and conversations with the parents. In one clip Mr Wade is heard to say that Ethan’s younger sibling, with whom he shared the box room, had been known to ‘play’ with buttons which, on cross-examination by counsel, he “did not recall” saying.

The bedroom was sealed off from public use and hours later a detective inspector and forensic officer attended to take pictures and examine the scene. No evidence of criminality was found and the police agreed to Mr Wade’s request to remove the bed the following day.

The bed had been delivered and installed by Theraposture, which specialises in tailor-made, adaptable furniture. It was inspected at the warehouse of Medequip, which supplies equipment on behalf of Medway Council and NHS Kent and Medway, by representatives from Theraposture and an occupational therapist manager at Medway Community Healthcare. No defects were found and the matter was referred to the Health and Safety Executive and the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency.

During their evidence, Mr Wade and Ms Gardiner said they were concerned with Velcro strips on the bed as Ethan had a habit of stripping off the same fabric used on his leg splints. They also claimed they were promised a new bed, but this one was 10-years-old, dirty and had Paw Patrol stickers on it.

Also giving evidence was Det Insp Sulling Chan who examined the room and bed. Assured that a crime had not been committed and no third party was involved, she came away with three hypotheses including mechanical error, natural causes, or user error – the first two had been ruled out. She told the court: “There was no evidence for an alternative explanation.” She said a further inspection found the bed was in good working order.

Ethan and his twin, who died three days after birth, were born prematurely at 27 weeks and suffered several serious medical conditions. After spending three and a half months in a specialist baby care unit, Ethan was allowed home under the care of physios and occupational therapists employed by Medway Community Healthcare. At 18 months, after his parents recognised he was not reaching the usual milestones, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Inquest jurors decided “user action” was to blame and delivered a conclusion of an accident. Assistant coroner Catherine Wood told Ethan’s parents: “My sincere condolences on the absolutely devastating loss of your child. I can’t imagine how difficult this entire process has been. I am truly sorry for your loss and hope the inquest process has helped answer some of your questions and it’s brought you some closure.”

Ms Gardiner said after the verdict about how Ethan’s condition never held him back and had a contagious laugh. Paying tribute to her son, she said: “Ethan was the light and soul of our lives. He was such a happy-go-lucky boy, always had a smile on his face that made you smile. He was such a larger-than-life character. Ethan is forever loved, cherished and adored by myself, his dad, brothers, sisters and all who knew him.”

She added: “When Ethan roared with laughter no one could resist laughing along with him, his laugh was so contagious. He loved to whizz around on his walker – we called him our little pocket rocket. If you came to visit our house, everyone knew to watch your feet or he would run them over.

“Ethan also loved to hum a tune, despite being non-verbal you got to know them. He loved to visit the park or just a simple trip shopping. Ethan would get so excited, especially if it was food shopping. Ethan loved his food but was very particular when it came to chips. McDonald’s chips or any frozen chips just were not acceptable – he loved nothing more than good old-fashioned homemade chips.

“He was born against all odds at just 27 weeks and he spent three-and-a-half months in hospital. He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy and we were told he wouldn’t do half the things he achieved. A true warrior, he learned to roll over, crawl and walk with his walker.”

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