HSE chief offers to meet family of Aoife Johnston, 16, who died after 'serious failings' at Limerick hospital

THE CHIEF of the HSE has offered to meet the family of the late Aoife Johnston, 16, who passed away on a trolley at University Hospital Limerick almost a year ago.

The sixth-year student from Cronan Lawn in Shannon, Co Clare passed away on Monday, December 19, 2022 after contracting meningitis, and later sepsis, having gone untreated.

According to the Irish Independent, referring to an unpublished review, there were delays in her treatment which ultimately breached the national guidelines on sepsis management. 

The report was commissioned in January 2023 by Prof Brian Lenehan, Chief Clinical Director, UL Hospitals Group, and completed by an expert HSE team external to UL Hospitals Group under the HSE Incident Management Framework.

In a statement released to Limerick Live, a spokesperson for the HSE said: "We have this week shared with the family the review into the tragic death of their daughter. 

"We have apologised to them for the serious failings in the care we provided to their daughter which have been identified in the review. The review has been referred to the Coroner who has yet to make a determination in the case."

The statement continued: "[The CEO of the HSE Mr Bernard Gloster] is willing to meet the family privately should they wish to do so but it is a matter for the family to decide if and when they might like to do this.

"We wish to extend our sincere condolences to the family following their devastating loss."

The Irish Independent reports that Aoife presented to the emergency department after 5pm on Saturday, December 17, was triaged two hours later, with sepsis being considered as a possibility. 

They report she was left to wait in the emergency department for 12 hours until she finally received an emergency medical review at 6am.

It is said that Aoife's condition deteriorated at a time where there were issues of severe overcrowding in the hospital.

At her funeral mass last December, Aoife was described as a "unique" and "bubbly" young woman. Limerick Live previously reported that two people had received her organs, giving two other families a precious gift through her untimely death.