Six Months On, Parents of Logan Murphy Still Await Medical Review Findings After Tragic Hospital Death

 Macroom, Co. Cork – The grieving parents of six-year-old Logan Murphy, who died from heart failure after contracting a rare viral infection, are still waiting for the findings of an independent medical review—more than six months after his death.

Logan, described by his family as a healthy and vibrant child, passed away on August 13 last year at Cork University Hospital (CUH). His parents, Patrick and Lei Murphy, appeared on national radio this week to express their anguish over the delay in the report's release, and to renew their call for transparency and accountability in the circumstances surrounding their son’s death.

Logan had fallen seriously ill in the early hours of August 12, complaining of severe stomach pain. His father carried him to the car and rushed him to a local GP, who, recognising the urgency, immediately referred the child to CUH. “He needs to go straight into A&E,” the GP told Patrick. “He’s in trouble.”

At the hospital’s emergency department, Logan turned to his father and asked, “Am I going to be okay, Daddy?” According to evidence heard at the coroner’s inquest, Logan was not seen by a hospital doctor until 11 p.m., and a consultant surgeon did not examine him until 8 a.m. the next morning. An ultrasound was conducted shortly after 9 a.m., and a CT scan was ordered for later that day. However, Logan passed away at approximately 3 p.m., before the scan could be carried out.

Recalling the final moments, Patrick described how he found his son lying face down on the hospital bed. “Straighten up your head, you’ll hurt your neck that way,” he told him. “But he never answered me,” Patrick said. “My wife screamed, ‘Oh my God, he’s dead.’ I said, ‘He’s not dead, he’s fine, he’s only relaxing.’ And then I checked him and he was dead. The doctors and nurses ran in and the first thing they said was, ‘Leave the ward.’”

Lei Murphy described the harrowing experience of watching her son deteriorate while repeatedly seeking urgent care. “Logan told me, ‘Mummy, I feel like I can’t breathe,’” she said. “I went out and told the nurses that my son said he couldn’t breathe, that he had chest pain. He asked me, ‘Mummy, are we going home tomorrow?’”

Trying to reassure her son, Lei recalled telling him, “You are in good hands… there is nothing to worry about.” That night, Logan prayed and asked, “Am I going to get better, Mummy?” She replied, “I’m sure you will.”

“But his colour changed from white, to pale, to purple,” Lei said. “I asked for the doctor. I said, ‘I need a doctor.’ How many times I asked for a doctor. It is horrible to see your child die in pain with no one there to help you, even though you are begging for help.”

Logan’s final words, his mother said, were: “I can’t take this anymore, Mummy.”

Speaking with quiet devastation, she added: “I cry every single day, knowing that my son died in agony. It’s horrible to think that. Life is not fair. He was looking forward to his First Communion. He had tried on his suit. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. It’s like I am having a nightmare.”

The inquest, which concluded several weeks ago, found that Logan died from natural causes due to acute myocarditis—a rare but potentially treatable inflammation of the heart muscle. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster, who conducted the post-mortem examination, stated that the condition is notoriously difficult to diagnose, even in clinical settings.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) appointed a panel of medical specialists from University Hospital Waterford and Mayo University Hospital in October last year to conduct a full external review of Logan’s case. However, the findings have yet to be shared with the family.

“We were disappointed by the coroner’s verdict that Logan died from natural causes,” said Lei. “That’s hard to think of for a six-year-old. I have a lot of questions [for] the review and I want them to answer [these questions]. We need answers. My son died in less than 24 hours. He was a healthy young boy. He didn’t have any underlying illness. Myocarditis is rare but it can be treated when it is detected.”

She continued: “We were promised 125 days. The patient was only there for less than 24 hours. It is still raw to talk about it.”

Patrick Murphy echoed his wife’s sentiments and reaffirmed the family’s determination to seek clarity. “We’re going nowhere,” he said. “We’re not going away from this.”

As the Murphy family waits for answers, their appeal is simple but urgent: that no other family should endure what they have, and that meaningful improvements to paediatric emergency care be made to ensure timely, life-saving intervention when it matters most.