Verdict of medical misadventure recorded over death of 16-year-old at University Hospital Limerick
, who died after waiting for more than 15 hours to be administered with “vital” antibiotics that likely would have saved her had she received them earlier, has recorded a verdict of medical misadventure.
He said it was not acceptable that even still, 15 months after Ms Johnston’s death, serious problems with overcrowding persist at the hospital’s emergency department. He made a number of recommendations along with his verdict, and expressed his condolences to the Johnston family. “We told her she was in the best place. ‘Get some rest. The doctors will be here soon.’ And the doctors never came.”
Ms Johnston’s parents said that, at present, their daughter is known as “a girl who died on a trolley”, but in time, they hoped that people would get to know “the real Aoife, the lovely 16-year-old, our baby girl”. Limerick Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday it was “highly likely” that Ms Johnston would have survived had she been treated with antibiotics in a timely and appropriate manner.
“It was an intolerable situation, for both the nurses and the doctors,” he said. “It was a dangerous, dangerous environment, for this dangerously ill patient to find herself in.” Dr James Gray, the emergency medicine consultant on call that weekend, told the inquest on Thursday the department was “like a death trap” due to the overcrowding.Dr Gray, who agreed that he was the most senior clinician working in the hospital’s emergency department while “on-site”, had declined a request to attend the hospital on the night of Ms Johnston’s admission.
Despite the implementation of recommendations from the Hamilton report – an independent report carried out following Ms Johnston’s death – the hospital’s emergency department is still a “very dysfunctional environment” today, Dr Gray said. “It’s still a dangerous place, unfortunately.”
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Aoife Johnston: Coroner records verdict of medical misadventure in University Hospital Limerick death of teenagerCourt heard it was ‘highly likely’ 16-year-old would have survived if she had received antibiotics in timely and appropriate manner
Read more »
Medical misadventure verdict returned at Aoife Johnston inquestThe 16-year-old died at University Hospital Limerick on December 19th 2022 after contracting sepsis
Read more »
Tipperary star Brendan Maher and his wife Aoife Hannon welcome baby togetherThe former GAA star and the former Miss Universe Ireland welcomed a baby boy called Hugo this week, and the new parents 'couldn't be more in love' with their newborn
Read more »
Brendan Maher and former Miss Universe Aoife Hannon announce birth of childThe pair shared a video on Instagram
Read more »
Tragic death of Aoife Johnston, 16, ruled medical misadventure after UHL hospital failingsAoife’s parents, James and Carol Johnston, pleaded for help as they watched their daughter’s condition worsen and deteriorate over 15 hours without care
Read more »
Aoife Johnston inquest: Teenager waited 15 hours before she was given antibiotics to treat sepsisUniversity Hospital Limerick’s assistant director of nursing agreed that there was an overconcentration of medical expertise dealing with fractures and broken bones on that night
Read more »