THE HSE HAS announced that a new investigation is to be carried out into the death 16-year-old Aoife Johnston at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). 

Aoife died of bacterial meningitis, after a 12-hour wait in the hospital’s emergency department, on 19 December last year, which was overcrowded at the time. 

She had initially presented to the hospital on 17 December, and was eventually admitted to intensive care, but passed away shortly after. 

A report into the circumstances surrounding Aoife’s death has already been carried out, and its findings were recently shared with her family. The review has not been publicly published. 

HSE CEO Bernard Gloster today said that he is satisfied that questions of “accountability need to be addressed” in this case. 

He has therefore appointed former Chief Justice Frank Clarke to conduct a formal investigation into “all of these matters”, and to make findings which will be directly reported to Gloster. 

“The outcome of this investigation will inform any further decisions to be made,” Gloster added. 

He has personally offered to meet with Aoife’s family to discuss the case. 

The University of Limerick Hospital Group last week stated that it has apologised to Aoife’s family for “serious failings in the care” in provided to their daughter “which have been identified in the review”. 

The initial review has also been shared with the coroner, who has not yet made any determination. 

Gloster today said that there are “many situations” in health and social care where analysis of “adverse incidents can gleam learnings for improvement”. 

He said that there are also situations where further investigation is “required”, and that he is certain that Aoife’s death is “one of those”. 

Gloster said that the Terms of Reference will be finalised in the coming weeks. 

He added that, as the anniversary of Aoife’s death is due tomorrow, on behalf of the HSE he apologises “unreservedly” to her family. 

“No words of mine can ever take away their loss. I do however assure them that the issues raised in the report will be investigated thoroughly,” Gloster said.