It’s the new year. A time for new ideas and new approaches. A time when it is easier to change a long established pattern and attempt something new. In one way or another, we could all use this opportunity in our life.
Nothing needs to be changed more than the ongoing situation regarding emergency medical treatment in Clare, and indeed the wider Mid-West region. Aoife Johnston is not the first Clare person to lose her life unnecessarily in the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick, but perhaps her tragic death may help to make her one of the last.
Every unnecessary death should prompt a real change, whether that be the death of an 80-year-old grandfather or a 16 year old teenager, with her whole life ahead of her.
Late on Tuesday night, the HSE published the terms of reference for second Independent investigation into the death of Aoife Johnston.
According to the new HSE CEO Bernard Gloster, this investigation will not just focus on the circumstances immediately surrounding the death of Aoife Johnston, but also on the clinical and corporate governance of University Hospital Limerick.
This is all well and good, and all that the HSE can realistically do, but unfortunately it does somewhat miss the point.
The seeds of so much of this was sown almost two decades ago when the now infamous reconfiguration of the local hospital service was pushed through, against the wishes of the vast majority of local people.
Many, many people could see the writing on the wall back then. We were promised a simple trade, the loss of our Emergency Department in Ennis in return for a state of the art, centre of excellence in Limerick. I’m not sure anyone, even the most staunch of government supporters, could describe the situation in UHL as a centre of excellence.
The argument was made at the time that the centre of excellence should be put in place first, before the Emergency Department was removed from Ennis. “Trust us,” we were told “we know what we’re doing”.
Trust is something that is in short, short supply at the moment.
This New Year, the powers that be should focus on what happens next. The people of Clare and the Mid-West are tired of promises and tired of waiting. It’s time for action.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.