'We're ones who have to go home without seeing Aoife again', blasts tragic teen's sister to weeping ex-hospital manager | 2Q1V8SF | 2024-04-27 00:08:01
A FORMER hospital manager wept as she told an inquest into the death of Aoife Johnston she would not forget the teenager's "beautiful face."
Dying Aoife waited over 15 hours for life-saving and available antibiotics but they came too late, the inquest was told.
The 16-year old passed away from a sepsis infection at UHL in 2022.
Antibiotics which the inquest heard would have saved Aoife were readily available.
The general manager on the night, Fiona Steed, said advice she gave to staff to alleviate overcrowding was not followed through.
Ms Steed wept and apologised a number of times to Aoife's family for the circumstances of her death.
She admitted she was never on the hospital site throughout Aoife's tragic hospital presentation but she said she was not required to be.
She said the only time she might have been expected to be on site at UHL was in the event off a "major emergency" but she said that overcrowding "is not the criteria for a major emergency".
Ms Steed said that the advice she had given, on the night Aoife was brought to the hospital, would have "taken 30 or 40 patients out of the ED".
Only 12 patients were moved out of the ed on the night, the inquest heard.
Ms Steed agreed with Damien Tansey, senior counsel and solicitor for the Johnston family, that whatever she did do (on the night) "didn't help matters".
She said the concerns she escalated to higher management about the two consultants refusing to attend the ED also "didn't help".
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> She agreed that despite her efforts to help the overcrowding crisis in the ED, "it got dramatically worse".
Ms Steed also agreed that overcrowding, staff deficits, inefficient patient flow and a lack of bed capacity had "adversely impacted" the functioning of the ED and the provision of safe care for patients.
"That was the situation at the time of this tragedy", Mr Tansey put it to the witness.
Ms Steed replied: "Yes."
Mr Tansey continued: "And that was the situation long after this tragedy."
Ms Steed replied: "Yes."
Mr Tansey concluded: "It's the situation even now, the whole country knows it."
Ms Steed wept as she told the inquest she had been haunted by Aoife's death.
"I wont forget Aoife or her beautiful face," she said weeping in the witness box.
Aoife's sister Meagan, became emotional and retorted before walking out of the hearing: "No, we are the ones who have to go home without seeing Aoife again".
The inquest is due to conclude tomorrow.
More >> https://ift.tt/M7l0s5d Source: MAG NEWS