Aoife Johnston's death has brought improvements in UHL, says management
The 16-year-old died from sepsis on December 19, 2022
A CLINICAL director in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) told the inquest into the death of Aoife Johnston that her death had a profound effect on everyone in the hospital.
Dr Damien Ryan told the court that the hospital will remain overcrowded, until capacity is improved.
However, he said; “A lot of what we do in the future will be done in Aoife's memory.”
Following on from other reports, six out of nine recommendations have now been completed.
These include having more senior staff on site, having a protocol in place for calling on consultants on call, having safe staffing levels and looking at putting patients through triage again when there are long waiting times.
Mr Ryan pointed out that he wasn't a member of the executive management team at the time of Aoife's death.
Fiona Steed was an executive on call on the weekend that Aoife died.
Becoming very emotional and tearful in the witness stand, she said she will “never forget” Aoife and that the teenager's death “has completely altered” her “approach to life” and to her own children.
As she spoke, Aoife's sister Meagan fled from the courtroom crying in distress.
Ms Steed told the court that clinical leadership and decisions were needed.
“The ED should not hold all of the risk as it did on that night.”
Ms Steed said she advised the assistant director of nursing to move trolleys so that up to 40 patients might be moved, but that advice was not followed through.
“I wrongly and regrettably assumed my advice had been followed,” she said.
The inquest continues this afternoon.