Tag Archives: UHL

The parents of Aoife Johnston, who died in a “death trap” emergency department at University Hospital Limerick, following “systemic failures” in her care, said today their daughter died a “horrible death”, writes David Raleigh. Carol and James Johnston said they wanted their daughter not to be remembered “as the girl who died on a hospital trolley”, but as “a happy, easy-going, happy-go-lucky girl, who went to school and did summer jobs”. “Our lovely 16-year-old girl and our baby was loved very, very much by us and her sisters,” they said. Following four days of harrowing evidence at Aoife’s inquest, the Limerick Coroner, John McNamara returned a verdict of medical misadventure in her death from meningitis after she contracted sepsis. It was, Mr McNamara agreed, “the only verdict” open to him after it had been proposed by Damien Tansey, senior counsel and solicitor for the Johnston family, and not opposed by barristers representing the HSE/ULHospitals Group and management at the hospital. …

An Assistant Director of Nursing at University Hospital Limerick, giving evidence on Tuesday at the inquest into Aoife Johnston’s death, agreed that the environment inside UHL’s overcrowded emergency department was “dangerous” for patients as Ms Johnston waited more than 12 hours for life-saving antibiotics, which it was heard were not administered in time. Aoife, 16, from Shannon, died at UHL on December 19 2022, following a series of delays in her treatment, the inquest which is being held at Limerick Coroners Court, Kilmallock, heard. Aoife presented at UHL on December 17, along with with a GP referral letter that queried “sepsis”, a life-threatening blood infection, which required “urgent” attention. UHL’s sepsis protocols, requiring patients to be seen by a doctor within 15 minutes, were not followed. Aoife was not triaged until 1 hour 15 minutes after first presenting. When she eventually made it to the emergency department she had to wait more than 12 hours to be examined by a …

A doctor who treated 16-year-old Aoife Johnston prior to her death at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) wept in the witness box at the teenager’s inquest and told Limerick Coroner, John McNamara, that the emergency department at UHL was “not a safe environment” for patients, writes David Raleigh. Dr Leandri Card told how she was trying to manage 191 ED patients on her own, and that she and ED nurses were “overwhelmed” on the night Aoife presented at the hospital. The South African native, who was working as a Senior House Officer (SHO) in UHL’s Emergency Department, said “every inch of the floor space” was taken up by patients on trolleys when Aoife presented on December 17, 2022. “It was like a war-zone. It was an impossible situation,” she said. Dr Card told the inquest, which is being held at Limerick Coroner’s Court in Kilmallock, that due to over-crowding and pressure on staff she and other doctors routinely prescribed medication for …

THE parents of Aoife Johnston who died at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), after waiting 12 hours on a chair while dying of sepsis, told her inquest today they watched her die despite “begging” staff to help, reports David Raleigh. James and Carol Johnston gave emotional and harrowing evidence at Limerick Coroner’s Court of the final moments of their 16-year-old daughter’s death, on December 19, 2022. James Johnston wept and held his face in his hands as he told the inquest that, despite his pleadings for assistance for his daughter, UHL staff “kept given Aoife paracetamol, and putting ice packs on her legs” but that “they just weren’t really helping, there was no help”. Mr Johnston said Aoife had awoken at their home on Saturday, December 17, in “great form” but she became “unwell” around midday, and “took some paracetamol and returned to bed”. Around 3.30pm Aoife vomited and Mr Johnston made an appointment at locum GP service Shannodoc for 4.50pm …

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly (FF) has announced a range of new measures aimed at alleviating overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick including opening the Acute Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis on 24 hour a day basis. Minister Donnelly visited University Hospital Limerick (UHL) today where he met with management, including Regional Executive Officer Sandra Broderick, the Health Service Executive (HSE) CEO Bernard Gloster, as well as consultants and other clinical leaders. UHL has consistently the highest number of people waiting on trollies for admittance to a hospital bed in the country. In 2024 to date, 17% of those who waited on trollies did so at UHL, a hospital which has 6% of Emergency Department attendances, and 6% of attendances of those over 75 years. “This continued problem is not acceptable to me as Minister, and it most certainly is not acceptable to the people of this region,” said Minister Donnelly. “In an effort to alleviate the problem I have …

A WELL KNOWN colorectal surgeon has called on An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to engage in continuing dialogue to increase acute hospitals services and personnel throughout the Mid-West. Professor Calvin Coffey recalled reconfiguration of acute hospital services was supposed to be followed by the introduction of a co-located hospital, additional funding and extra health infrastructure across the region. This didn’t happen due to the economic crash and have not been implemented in recent years by the present government. This has resulted in doctors, nurses, consultants and health care professionals all providing health care above and beyond what they should be providing. Professor Coffey, who is one of the signatories of an open letter signed by 87 consultants and doctors, agreed that chronic overcrowding increases the risk of an adverse outcome for patients on trolleys due to the sheer volume of number and the lack of adequate staff. Stressing the need for investment in hospitals throughout the …

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has admitted “mistakes” were made implementing the controversial removal of 24-hour Accident and Emergency services in Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009. Speaking in the Dáil, Minister Donnelly acknowledged “sufficient capacity” was not provided for when changes were made to emergency departments in the Mid-West, which was now being addressed with more beds and health workforce. “UHL is under significant pressure. I turned the sod recently on an additional 96 beds. There are two more plans that will provide a further 200 beds. We are also putting in a surgical hub. There is an awful lot of investment going in. “We will be investing in Nenagh, Ennis and further in St. John’s Hospital and other hospitals. This is the way to do it.” He said changes were being introduced in the new consultant contract to have more senior decision-makers rostered in the evenings and at weekends for patient assessment, treatment, admission and discharge. Addressing the …

A 90-year-old Shannon man, who was living independently prior to hospitalisation, was emotionally traumatised by spending two nights on a trolley in University Hospital Limerick (UHL), family members have claimed. Mick Phelan endured a “horrendous” time on a trolley in December 2014, according to his son, Blaise, who has called on the UL Hospitals’ Group to address chronic overcrowding in the hospital. His daughter, Marena, said Mick went from someone who had bought spare ribs and cabbage for his family before hospitalisation to a person who suffered emotional distress after his trolley experience. A GAA fanatic and one of the founder members of Wolfe Tones GAA club, he trained club underage teams and was manager of the club’s best football teams in the early seventies. In addition to travelling to see GAA games all over the country, he regularly acted as a steward for Leinster matches and All-Ireland finals in Croke Park up to the age of 83. His last …