WE BEGGED FOR HELP..
»»Inquest told about sepsis pain of girl, 16 »»Parents reveal wait to get teen treatment
THE parents of a teenager who died of sepsis after waiting 12 hours on a hospital chair told her inquest how they “begged” staff to help.
James and Carol Johnston gave emotional and harrowing evidence at Limerick Coroner’s Court yesterday about the final moments of 16-yearold Aoife’s life on December 19, 2022.
Mr Johnston wept and held his face in his hands as he told despite his pleadings, University Hospital Limerick staff “kept giving her paracetamol, and putting ice packs on her legs” but “they just weren’t really helping, there was no help”.
He said Aoife woke at their home on Saturday, December 17 in “great form” but became “unwell” around midday, and “took some paracetamol and returned to bed”.
Around 3.30pm, she vomited and her dad made an appointment at locum GP service Shannodoc for 4.50pm for the teenager.
Mr Johnston said on-call doctor Dr Madlala Mdumiseni told them after examining Aoife he was “concerned” for her and he advised they go directly to UHL.
Dr Mdumiseni told the inquest he had formed the view she was suffering from an “acute infection of sepsis with symptoms worsening”.
The witness said the tragic teen “looked clinically unwell”, her heart rate was fast, her blood pressure was low and she was dehydrated, weak and light headed.
He added he gave Mr Johnston a referral letter and told him to present it at UHL to ensure Aoife would be seen “as soon as possible”.
However, the inquest heard it was over 12 hours before Aoife was seen by a doctor.
Mr and Mrs Johnston said they immediately brought Aoife to UHL, arriving at 5.40pm.
She said she opened the letter “which stated that Aoife had a temperature of 39.5C and that the doctor felt that she might have viral septicaemia and dehydration”.
When they arrived at UHL they handed in the referral letter and were told to take a seat in reception.
Aoife was not seen by a triage nurse, the first point of contact with medical staff, until 7.15pm, one hour and 35 minutes after arriving at the hospital.
Mr Johnston said Aoife “vomited twice while waiting” for the nurse.
He added the nurse “spent approximately five minutes with Aoife” before taking her on a wheelchair to the emergency department.
Mr Johnston said: “There was no trolley available, so we tried to make a bed for Aoife with two chairs.”
Damien Tansey, senior counsel and family solicitor, said her condition worsened but she did not receive adequate care “until it was too late”.
Throughout the night Aoife’s skin developed blotches and became discoloured around her left eye.
Mr Johnston said: “Aoife was violently vomiting pure green liquid. I continually begged for help.
“The response was a brown cup for Aoife to vomit into, and on one occasion a rebuke, ‘I am well aware she is sick, but have 70 other patients to look after’.
“I was up and down to the nurses all night pleading with them to help.
“Aoife was screaming in agony with pain in her right leg and head.”
Mr Johnston said her screams were so loud “that I heard people outside on the trolleys asking the nurses and doctors to help Aoife. At one point a man said, ‘Is someone not going to go into that girl’.”
Mrs Johnston added as her daughter was being brought to the A&E, she “noticed a huge number of trolleys and I said to the nurse, ‘Look she’s really ill, you’re not leaving us here, are you? She’s really unwell’.”
She said Aoife was moved from Zone A at A&E to what “appeared to be a storage room as there was PPE gear all over the room”.
Aoife’s parents said at one point during the night, staff brought her for an X-ray, but “when Aoife came back, she was very upset and said staff were “really mean’ to her”.
They added: “She told us that they were giving out to her because she couldn’t stand up but by that point Aoife was physically unable to stand.”
Mr Tansey said his clients were adamant Aoife was brought for the X-ray, but he said, UHL had “no record” of the attempted scan.
Aoife was first seen by a doctor at 6am the following day, December 18, and was advised she would be treated as if she had meningitis.
Mr Johnston said: “After the doctor left, she started to deteriorate even more. I went out to the nurses station and there were approximately 12 nurses just standing there, and I roared at them to help my f ***** g daughter.
“At this point, my daughter could no longer communicate. Aoife was taken to resuscitation, her limbs were moving involuntarily, I was asked to hold down my daughter’s legs so they [doctors] could administer treatment.”
Medics placed Aoife in an induced coma to reduce swelling on her brain but she was pronounced dead at 3.30pm on December 19.
Mr Tansey said the head nurse in charge of Aoife’s care, who was in Australia, had prepared a deposition.
He added it was “inconceivable” a witness was not available to give
evidence or take questions over Zoom. Mr Tansey said an external interim report had been given to the HSE and UL Hospitals Group.
He added the family were “concerned” they did not see the report and had to “rely” on media to hear its contents.
Mr Tansey said the family were grateful for meetings with HSE
CEO Bernard Gloster and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
Conor Halpin, senior counsel, acting for the HSE, read out letters of apology on behalf of Mr Gloster and Colette Cowan, chief executive of the UL Hospitals
Group for admitted “failings” in care which led to the “catastrophic” outcome, her death.
Coroner John Mcnamara said Ms Cowan was not asked to provide a deposition but testimonies from staff involved in Aoife’s care would be heard.
Mrs Johnston concluded her deposition: “I continually begged for help. We watched our daughter die, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
“God help her, we told her she was in the best place, but it turned out she wasn’t.”
The inquest is scheduled to run for four consecutive days.