The inquest into the death of 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick has brought to the fore many of the issues that face a hospital that is regularly the most overcrowded in the country.
At the start of the inquest into the death of Aoife Johnston in Kilmallock, Limerick Coroner John McNamara referred to the"sad and tragic case" that had triggered he inquiry.
But the implications of what was heard resonate across the midwest region and touch on the welfare of every man, woman and child in the hinterland serviced by the region’s only 24-hour Emergency Department. "Intolerable","overwhelming" and"horrendous" were just three of the terms used by nurses to describe their experiences of working in the ED.
The Health Information and Quality Authority described a place that was"grossly overcrowded", with"prolonged wait times","insufficient staffing levels" and"a mismatch of demand and capacity". Injury assessment units in Ennis and Nenagh serve a function, but they don’t have the ability to offer full emergency cover. Campaigners argue the reopening of back-up EDs is needed, to ease pressure in the system.
From Tuesday to Friday of this week alone, between 31 and 42 people were recorded on trolleys each day in the ED. The absence of beds elsewhere is reflected in the number of additional trolleys placed in hospital wards: an extra 47 on Tuesday last, rising to 64 by yesterday. Her GP identified the possibility she had sepsis when he saw her in his clinic and immediately sent her to the ED.
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