The family of a 14-year-old girl who died after collapsing while attending Irish college says they want answers and an independent review into her care from Children’s Health Ireland (CHI).
After waiting four months for a response, Amelia Belle Ferguson’s family received a list of answers to their questions from CHI last week. But they say they have more questions about their daughter’s care.
Suzi Mangan and Brian Ferguson, Amelia’s parents, and Amelia’s sister Poppy held a protest with the support of friends and family outside the Department of Health last week. They called for more transparency and scrutiny of the care she received and the information CHI shared with them in the final months of her life.
Amelia died after collapsing while out on a walk during her time at an Irish college in Co Galway last summer. Her heart had been beating in chaotic rhythms and ultimately failed. Since she was a baby she had been receiving care from CHI for a pre-existing condition with her heart that meant she required a pacemaker.
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Ms Mangan said the family had raised concerns with CHI about whether issues raised at what would become Amelia’s final appointment in May 2024 should have been taken more seriously. The family also say they only learned important details about her health records after she died.
Despite what Ms Mangan said were concerns raised at Amelia’s last appointment, CHI would later send a letter saying her cardiovascular examination that day was “normal”. It arrived on the day of Amelia’s funeral. CHI has apologised to the family for the letter.
The family first formally sought answers to a series of questions about Amelia’s care in April of this year, giving CHI four weeks to respond. Ms Mangan said she received a lengthy response from CHI the day before the demonstration was scheduled to take place outside the Department of Health.
“I believe they only responded because they knew the protest was happening and the answers I received are inadequate,” Ms Mangan said.
“The answers I received didn’t actually answer all of my questions, they are vague and some are just about their general protocols but not actually what I asked in relation to Amelia’s individual case.
“It shouldn’t have to be like this.
“We need honesty, transparency, accountability, and internal and external investigations done if a child dies under their care,” Ms Mangan said. “Families shouldn’t have to go through this horrendous system.”
A spokeswoman for CHI said the hospital group would support a request from the family for an inquest into Amelia’s death. But Ms Mangan said she does not want an inquest, but a specific external review of how the case was handled by CHI.
CHI had previously said it could not “provide details about the care provided to individual patients publicly”, but that it remained committed to working with her family “to answer any and all questions they have about Amelia’s care with us”.
