The tragic death of Shannon teenager Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has been condemned as “unconscionable, unforgivable, completely wrong and avoidable” by the new Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
Speaking to reporters at UHL on Thursday, Minister Carroll MacNeill said it was important to acknowledge what happened to Ms Johnston in December 2022 and confirmed she had hoped to meet Aoife Johnston’s parents earlier that day but it didn’t work out.
However, the Fine Gael Minister stressed she looked forward to meeting them next week for a scheduled meeting and said HSE Chief Executive Bernard Gloster is going to meet them again.
Carol and James Johnston recently reiterated their calls for a statutory public inquiry into the death of their daughter at UHL. The couple are awaiting answers or any kind of response from the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste.
Commenting on the next steps, the minister said she was very aware there are ongoing disciplinary process involving six staff in the HSE and it was very important that these processes are enabled as this was something that wasn’t often seen in the health authority.
The new Health Minister visited UHL to examine progress with the new 96-bed inpatient block, which is nearing completion and is expected to be finished in the third quarter of this year.
Minister MacNeill was non committal on whether she supported the construction of a second Emergency Department in the Mid-West, opting instead to wait until the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) completes its final report on this issue next May.
Ms Johnston died of meningitis at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) in December 2022 after a thirteen and a half hour gap between presentation at the Emergency Department having been seen by a GP who queried the possibility of sepsis.
In April 2023, a verdict of medical misadventure was recorded at Ms Johnston’s inquest held at Limerick Coroner’s Court, where the HSE issued a formal apology to the Johnston family.
Five months later, the Frank Clarke Report concluded Ms Johnston’s death was “almost certainly avoidable”.
The Johnston’s senior counsel Damien Tansey has repeatedly called for a statutory inquiry into Ms Johnston’s death.
Damien Tansey said the State failed the Johnston family through the agency of the HSE, therefore, the State is the only authority with the necessary resources to provide answers.
“The very least the Johnston family are entitled to, given the failure of the State to vindicate and protect the life of their daughter, is to provide a process of the kind that will produce answers,” he said
But, he added, that to date and on the second anniversary of her death – no answers have been forthcoming.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme recently, Mr Tansey said the family is awaiting a decision on the part of the new Government to conduct a statutory inquiry.
The family, he said, wants answers and accountability, adding that there is “no reason why a statutory inquiry should take years”.
Deputy Donna McGettigan has supported renewed calls for a statutory public inquiry into Ms Johnston’s death.
The Sinn Féin Deputy told the Clare Champion the Johnston family felt very let down by a number of HSE inquiries including the Frank Clarke report.
“The Johnston family haven’t got proper answers yet about the death of Aoife. The answers they have received don’t answer everything.
“They feel there is no accountability and feel so let down by this. Their sister and daughter are never coming back. They are never going to be able to move on until they get proper answers on this,” she said.
Dan Danaher
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.