A 15-year-old Dublin boy died from a severe asthma attack in March 2022 after waiting more than four years to see a respiratory specialist, an inquest has heard. Four scheduled appointments had been cancelled during that period.
The coroner returned a verdict of medical misadventure and identified missed opportunities in the management of an unstable and severe condition. Children's Health Ireland issued an unreserved apology and set out a series of improvements, including merged waiting lists across hospitals and additional consultant appointments.
The coroner recommended that children with a history of respiratory arrest should have a mandatory discussion with a senior clinician, and that referral urgency categories should be clarified. Since the boy's death, respiratory waiting times have been reduced, although the current list still includes 290 children, 25 of whom have been waiting over a year.
Read the full report at RTÉ News.