The inquest into the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick is to conclude today.
The Shannon teenager passed away in 2022 after spending twelve hours waiting on chairs in the Emergency Department.
The inquest has heard the hospital didn’t follow protocol with suspected sepsis patients, and Aoife wasn’t seen by a doctor for 12 hours after presenting.
It was also told she wasn’t administered life-saving medication – which was available – until it was too late.
Multiple hospital staff giving evidence have cried in the witness box, with some describing the conditions in the hospitals as “unprecedented”, “chaotic” and like a “warzone”.
Giving evidence today, Consultant Dr James Gray, who was asked to attend the ED on December 17th, 2022 due to overcrowding pressures, has said the ED was “like a death trap” on the weekend in question.
A verdict is expected later today, on the fourth day of the inquest.
It’s comes a protest is taking place outside the Dáil this lunchtime to call for the urgent enhancement of healthcare services in the MidWest.
University Hospital Limerick remains by far the most overcrowded facility in the country with 258 patients already recorded on trolleys there this week by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
Today, 82 admitted patients were waiting for beds there during morning rounds, according to the nurses and midwives union.
Organiser of today’s demonstration, Mike Daly believes that even reinstating one A&E at Ennis, Nenagh or St.Johns would make a major difference.
You can listen to the full interview here:
