Have a chance... a death trap’
■ DEVASTATED PARENTS SAY AOIFE WAS ‘GOOD, COOL KID’ ■
crowding were being implemented but these were not being done quickly enough.
“Aoife Johnston had no chance. The system failed her, the ED failed her,” he also said.
“It was a dysfunctional environment, it was beyond an emergency — it was an abusive of human rights.”
Request
Under cross examination by Mr Tansey, Dr Gray admitted he had declined a request from a nurse manager to come into the ED on the night Aoife presented.
He told the inquest consultants who are oncall but off-site at weekends, as he was then, would not normally return to the ED for overcrowding “because it is always overcrowded”.
He reiterated that he received one phone call on the night about the unfolding overcrowding crisis but that was never told about Aoife.
Indicating he was exhausted when he took the call, Dr Gray said: “I was physically unable to come every single time I was called about it being overcrowded, it was always overcrowded.”
“You have good staff working in a very poor environment — there was leadership but unfortunately leadership just couldn’t cope with the situation.”
There was only one nurse and one doctor in charge of almost 200 patients who were squeezed together along the corridors of Zone A.
Continuing her touching tribute to Aoife outside the court,
Carol
Johnston said she was always a good kid.
“I know every parent says it, but she was no hassle to me and her dad, she was a good kid, and, as James would say, she was a cool kid.”
Fighting back tears, Carol’s husband said: “Aoife was the coolest kid, she was my best friend, my baby girl.”
Their message specifically to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health is that a Government policy decision in 2009 to close three 24-hour emergency departments in the region and funnel them to Limerick should be reversed. When asked if the EDs in Ennis and Nenagh and St John’s should be reopened, they replied: “Yes, 100 per cent, definitely.
“We can’t make that happen but from our experience definitely — it shouldn’t happen to another child.”
“Aoife is gone now so all of the apologies and anything they put in place now isn’t going to (bring her back), it’s not going to change that.”
Aoife’s sisters Kate and Meagan broke down outside the court, holding framed pictures of their dead sibling.
Meagan said: “I’ll never ever forget Aoife, she was the most amazing sister ever, and it kills me that I never got to say goodbye.”
Call
“When I got the call Aoife was already gone. l’ll never forget that drive into the ICU, I never got to say goodbye to my little sister.
“She was gone and I never got to see my sister complete her Leaving Cert, or see her graduate, or move on to the next chapter with her boyfriend who has been left heartbroken.”
Looking at her sister’s photograph, Meagan added: “I’m so sorry Aoife for what happened to you, but my mum and dad did everything they could for [you].”
‘It kills me that I never got to say goodbye’