The family of Aoife Johnston who died in the overcrowded Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick are calling on the Government to order a full statutory inquiry into her death.
The 16-year-old schoolgirl, from Shannon, Co Clare, waited over 12 hours to be seen by a doctor after she was sent to the hospital with suspected sepsis in December 2022.
She died two days later in a case that has led to apologies from the HSE and the Government; a HIQA review into whether the MidWest Region needs a second Emergency Department; and a report from the former Chief Justice Frank Clarke which found her death was "almost certainly avoidable".
Over two years on from their tragic loss, the Johnston family told RTÉ’s Drivetime that they still do not have answers, accountability or justice for Aoife, prompting their solicitor Damien Tansey to write to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Health this week re-iterating the family's call for a public inquiry.
It’s still "hard to believe Aoife’s gone", said her mother Carol who said they "still haven’t grieved for her". She described every day since as "a daze", with "too many unanswered questions".
The loss of their "beautiful baby girl" and more than two years of seeking answers has taken its toll for Aoife’s dad James who is now being treated at University Hospital Limerick Hospital after a diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer.
It was "already hard" dealing with Aoife being gone, he said, "but now this, it’s put the nail in the coffin really, it’s just heart-breaking".
He added: "I’m trying my best but need things to move on quicker, we need answers for Aoife, she was only a child and we still don’t know what happened to her."
Referring to his cancer diagnosis, James revealed "it’s Stage 4 and not curable", he said. Now undergoing treatment at the Oncology Department at the same facility where Aoife died, James said he "hates going into that hospital but had no other choice but to go to Limerick" though he praised doctors and staff at the UHL Oncology Department who are "trying to manage" his illness.
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James added he refuses to go to the Emergency Department at UHL, describing it as a "warzone still", referencing the description given by some ED staff members of the overcrowded facility at the inquest into Aoife’s death last April.
The Johnstons' letter to senior Government figures this week, comes five months after the publication of a report carried out by former Chief Justice Frank Clarke who concluded that on the basis of all the medical evidence given to him, Aoife’s death was "almost certainly avoidable".
The Clarke report found that doctors and nurses at the Emergency Department in UHL were unaware of her sepsis risk, and because of overcrowding she was sent to the wrong section of the ED where sepsis forms were not kept or filled out.
Following publication of the report in which names were redacted, the HSE Chief Executive confirmed that six people were facing disciplinary action over the circumstances surrounding Aoife's death at UHL.
Bernard Gloster defended the decision not to name any of the individuals in the report and said they must be allowed a fair hearing in any future measures.
He also reiterated HSE apologies to the Johnston family, and said "We can never tire of saying we failed Aoife, we failed her badly, our failure caused her death", and that the issue is "a question of accountability".
But he also expressed his view that "I don't believe quite frankly it's necessary" to have a new inquiry into what happened, as "I don't believe it will tell us anything different and I don't believe it will enable any greater accountability than that already being pursued".
Asked about the findings of the Clarke report, and disciplinary proceedings at UHL, the Johnston family said they still do not have the answers or accountability they need.
Expressing the hope that an inquiry on a statutory basis would have more powers, and compel witnesses to attend, Carol Johnston said "we’d be able to get more answers if it was opened up and was made public" with James adding "we don’t know who those six people being investigated are, we still need the public inquiry, it has to be done".
Regarding suggestions that a statutory inquiry could take years and lead to significant legal costs, Carol Johnston said that "timing to us won’t matter, it’s our child at the end of the day and I’m sure every parent would feel the exact same".
According to INMO figures, there were 109 patients waiting on trollies at UHL today and following persistent overcrowding, and the death of Aoife Johnston, the Minister for Health asked HIQA to conduct a review into emergency care capacity in the midwest region to determine whether a second emergency department is required.
HIQA’s interim report is expected later this month, almost 16 years since emergency services for Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary were centralised to the UHL site following the downgrading of ED facilities in Ennis, Nenagh and St. John’s Hospital in Limerick.
The Johnston family expressed the view that a second ED is definitely required with "Ennis the obvious choice for the Clare side" according to Carol, while James described ongoing overcrowding in UHL as "shocking, it’s too difficult what’s going on in there," he said.
As the Johnston family await a response to their letter this week, Carol also called specifically on Simon Harris to follow through on comments he made ahead of the General Election when he said he had met with Aoife’s family and "they must be listened to, there must be a full inquiry as they have called for".
Carol said they are "holding Simon Harris and the Government to that 100%", adding she would be happy to meet with him again or with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
She concluded by saying a public inquiry is warranted where someone dies in avoidable circumstances like Aoife to show their life mattered. It is "for Aoife" she insisted but also "for everyone in the MidWest, for the safety of everyone attending that hospital".
"Aoife’s life matters" she added, "we need to make sure this happens."
In a statement, the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she has replied to the letter from the family and that she is "happy to meet with the family at the earliest opportunity to hear their views".
