‘Everything we could do, we did do’: inquiry hears of death of pensioner

Newport man found at bottom of city pool ‘remarkably fit’

are removed the better prospect is, because of the lesser degree of brain damage.

“If it’s about two or three minutes, circulation can be restarted. If left any longer, it’s unusual that the circulation would have been restored at all. He would have been dead at the poolside rather than the hospital. A few minutes would be the maximum that can be endured.”

Dr Sadler was asked if Mr McDonald’s Parkinson’s disease could have contributed to his death. He said: “It may have contributed to his ability to escape an encounter in the water. It’s speculative, really.”

Dr Sadler added that an irregular heartbeat or mini stroke are “entirely possible” but evidence of these would not show up during a post-mortem.

In other evidence, Mr McDonald’s GP, Dr Clare Brown, said that he had been in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease in 2007 but was “a remarkably fit man.”

As the disease progressed, Mr McDonald developed worsening tremors, slower movement and a pronounced stoop.

A medical letter described his Parkinson’s disease in July 2011 as “significant”, noting Mr McDonald had suffered “considerable deterioration”.

Dr Brown said that despite a “shift in his general health”, news of Mr McDonald’s death was “very much” a surprise.

The inquiry at Dundee Sheriff Court before Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC continues.

Dr David Sadler, left, and Dr Barry Klaassen both gave evidence at the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of Michael McDonald at the Hilton Hotel swimming pool, above.