‘Don’t let another child die like little Aibha’ – family’s plea
A HOSPITAL has apologised to the family of a six-year-old girl who died three days after she was brought in suffering from low blood sugar.
Aibha Conroy had been in hospital in August 2011 and diagnosed with hypoglycemia – but was not referred on for specialist care before she was again admitted on December 11 that year with low blood sugar.
Mr Justice Kevin Cross was told Aibha, from Gowla, Connemara, Co Galway, had a cardiac arrest in A&E at University Hospital Galway.
She was ventilated and intubated and transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin, where her life support was disconnected after three days. She died on December 14, 2011.
The apology was read to court yesterday as part of the settlement of an action by Aibha’s parents and younger sister against the HSE over her death.
University Hospital Galway said it deeply regretted what had happened and apologised to Kathleen and John Conroy and their family “for the failure to refer Aibha to Crumlin Children’s Hospital for investigations” following her admission in August 2011.
“University Hospital Galway, together with its clinical and nursing staff, wish to extend their sincere and heartfelt sympathy to the Conroy family on the death of their daughter Aibha,” UHG general manager Chris Kane said in a statement.
The statement added that the hospital, its clinical and nursing staff, extended their sincere and heartfelt sympathy to the family.
“The hospital acknowledges and greatly regrets the huge trauma and suffering of the Conroy family resulting from the death of Aibha.”
The details of the settlement are confidential.
The family’s solicitor Damien Tansey said that the Conroy’s were “delighted that this is over”.
The Conroys’ entire mission, he said, was to ensure the same thing did not happen to another family.
“Losing a daughter at sixand-a-half years was an enormous tragedy and the Conroys were concerned primarily that the necessary expertise would be hired in to UHG so when another kid like Aibha presented with hypoglycemia the necessary expertise was there.”
“The Health Board challenged them all the way. You may recall an inquest was held earlier, and it was the longest inquest in the history of the State,” he added.
“For the entire of the inquest the HSE challenged the Conroys and sought to represent matters as no guilt or negligence on their part.
“Today and earlier a settlement was negotiated and it was a term of that settlement that liability was admitted.”
Declan Buckley SC, for the HSE, had told the court that a consultant paediatric endocrinologist has now been appointed to the Galway hospital and will take up a position there in June 2018.
Des O’Neill SC, for the Conroys, said Aibha had presented at UHG on three occasions during 2011 – and in August a diagnosis of hypoglycemia had been made.
However, she was not referred on for expert analysis and there was no endocrinologist in Galway at the time. Approving the settlement, the judge said the family had been “very sensible and noble” in relation to the case.