UHL emergency department 'failing both patients and staff for a long time'

The Mid West Hospital Campaign group have thanked Aoife Johnston's family and legal team for "exposing the reality forced on the many thousands" who visit the emergency department (ED) at University Hospital Limerick.

In a statement, MWHC offered their "sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Johnston family on the loss of their daughter and sister, Aoife, as a result of yet more catastrophic failures" at UHL ED.

The inquest into the death of the 16-year-old from Shannon, from meningitis on 19 December 2022, concluded last Thursday, April, 25.

The coroner at Kilmallock Court returned a verdict of medical misadventure.

Read More: Aoife Johnston: Verdict of medical misadventure returned at inquest

"It is not a place that any of us from Clare, Limerick or North Tipperary enter with any sense of confidence but for many of us there is no other choice," they said, adding it was important "to hear the truth about the appalling conditions in the Emergency Department which has been failing both the patients and the staff for a long time".

Of particular concern was the revelation that doctors routinely prescribed medication for ED patients without first seeing or examining them and raises a number of issues, MWHC stated.

"In particular what other work practices are accepted as routine, which may be contributing or have contributed to the 'cover up' of the inhumane, degrading, disrespectful environment that is the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick."

The group also said they would release a more detailed response in the coming days, but that now was "a time for support for the Johnston family".