SIX people are facing disciplinary action on foot of the report in to the death of 16-year old Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick in December 2022.
The Shannon schoolgirl died at UHL two days after presenting at the emergency department with symptoms of suspected sepsis .
Now the CEO of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Bernard Gloser has revealed that six -idividuals are involved in a disciplinary process as a result of what the former Chief Justice Frank Clareke’s report has uncovered.
And he has stated that the health service failure was the cause of her death.
The report found that because of the overcrowding i the day, Aoife was sent to a part of the emergency department where staff were not aware that she was at risk from sepsis.
Speaking on the ‘This Week’ programme in on RTE today (Sunday) the CEO said, ” we failed Aoife, we failed her badly, our failure caused her death”, and that the issue is “a question of accountability.”
But he said he will not be naming those involved to allow for a fair hearing in each case.
He also said that he will be putting a person in a place of senior responsibility at UHL before the end of this month but did not elaborate on who that might be.
Asked if in his opinion University Hospital Limerick is now “safe”, Mr Gloster said: “Safer, and that’s what I say in every part of the health service.
“I think there is that risk there, but I think that risk is less. I think the risk is mitigated, and I think it’s increasingly mitigated.”
