HSE investigating death of teen girl left waiting on trolley for 16 hours

16-year-old Aoife died on December 19th.

An investigation is now underway following the death of a teenage girl at University Hospital Limerick. 16-year-old Aoife Johnston sadly died from meningitis in December. The HSE is now investigating Aoife's untimely passing. Before her tragic death, Aoife was left waiting on a hospital trolley for up to 16 hours. During their time in the hospital, her parents expressed their concerns about overcrowding. Aoife was admitted to University Hospital Limerick with bacterial meningitis. Doctors classified her case as a 'category two'. This means they did not believe Aoife's life was in danger. She was treated by a doctor and also received antibiotics for meningitis, but it was too late. Aoife sadly passed away on December 19th. HSE Chief Operations Officer Damien McCallion said an investigation is now underway. However, he did not discuss the case in detail out of respect for Aoife's family. He told Morning Ireland; "In terms of that tragedy, I don't want to say too much, but what I would say is that the hospital has met with the family. He confirmed that an investigation is now underway following Aoife's death. "The hospital will work with the family in the first instance around that." "It really wouldn't be appropriate to say anything more around that at the moment." However, he did not answer questions about whether overcrowding at the hospital contributed to Aoife's death. Mr. McCallion stressed that it would be unfair to her family to discuss the case further. Aoife's funeral took place at St John and Paul's Church Shannon on December 22nd.

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