Investigation launched into death of girl (16) at University Hospital Limerick

David Raleigh

The UL Hospitals Group has launched an internal investigation into the death of a 16-year-old girl who died in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) three weeks ago.

There were 113 patients on trolleys in corridors and wards at the hospital on January 29th, the day the girl died.

It is understood that the girl is from Co Limerick.

It is the second internal inquiry into the death of a teenage girl at UHL in as many years.

Aoife Johnston (16), from Shannon, Co Clare, who developed meningitis, died after waiting on a trolley in UHL's Emergency Department for 12 hours in December 2022.

A review was launched into Aoife's death, the findings of which lead the HSE to apologise to the Johnson family for the “serious failings in the care” provided to Aoife.

An inquiry has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the death of the second teenager and the care she received at the hospital on the day she died.

In a statement, UL Hospitals Group offered its “sincere condolences” to the girl’s family on “their devastating loss”.

“We can confirm that a preliminary assessment has been carried out in line with the HSE Incident Management Framework and the findings from this assessment will be shared with the family pending the results of a post-mortem examination,” the statement continued.

Under the HSE Incident Management Framework, all major incidents are initially put through a preliminary assessment, which is then used to classify the seriousness of each incident.

When a patient suffers harm, it is regarded as a Category 1 incident and is subject to a review.