HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly said he is not ruling out a statutory inquiry into the tragic death of teenager, Aoife Johnston, at University Hospital Limerick.
But he warned that such a process is “very legalistic,” can take years and in the end, may not answer all the questions.
But Damien Tansey, the family solicitor, said that the Johnstons “certainly do want a statutory inquiry” into why their daughter died in the hospital.
Following the interview, Minister Donnelly told RTE’s This Week programme, “I want to talk to Carol and James and discuss this with them,”
He said that while he is not ruling out a statutory inquiry, “solicitors sometimes talk about statutory inquiries and talk about them like they will resolve all of the problems and answer all of the questions.
“There is a statutory inquiry into the Grace case (sexual abuse of an intellectually disabled woman in care) and that has been running for six years and they have yet to publish their first report into phase one.
“It is a very legalistic process and they don’t always give people what they want.”
In response to a query from the Irish Independent, senior partner Damien Tansey SC, who represents Aoife Johnston’s family, said that “they (Aoife’s parents) certainly do want a statutory inquiry.”
Aoife Johnston died at University Hospital Limerick in December 2022 after waiting for 12 hours to be assessed for suspected sepsis.
She was not administered the appropriate sepsis bundle of medication until 13 hours later. National protocols on sepsis suggest that treatment should take place within one hour.
Former chief justice Frank Clarke described the circumstances around her death as “almost certainly avoidable”.
Aoife’s parents have said the report does not provide any answers as to why their daughter died from a condition that was treatable and they want an investigation that will pinpoint exactly how that happened.
