The Chief Executive officer and 5 other staff at University Hospital Limerick(UHL) are to face disciplinary action relating to the death of Aoife Johnston in UHL in December 2022. Colette Cowan, the most senior executive in the hospital has stepped aside from her role as a condition of the disciplinary process pending the outcome of the investigation. It is understood that the CEO of the HSE Bernard Gloster began the disciplinary process after considering the report into Ms Johnston’s death and Governance issues at University Hospital Limerick compiled by Former Chief Justice Frank Clarke.
Ms Johnston from Shannon in county Clare died after waiting in the Emergency Department for more than 12 hours for treatment that could have saved her life – her GP had referred her to the hospital with suspected sepsis. An inquest earlier this year found that Ms Johnston’s death was due to medical misadventure.
It is also understood that the Johnson family are deeply disappointed with the Clarke report which is yet to be published. The family solicitor Damien Tansey says the report did not resolve conflicts of evidence at the inquest or make findings of fact. The Emergency Department which was built to accommodate 49 patients had 191 patients on the night Ms Johnston was admitted and staff dispute whether or not an instruction to move patients to other wards in the hospitals was issued.
