Limerick mum whose daughter died after being discharged from UHL to run for Dail

THE MID-WEST Hospital Campaign (MWHC) has announced that it will be represented in the next general election by activist Melanie Sheehan Cleary in the Limerick City constituency.

Melanie is a mother-of-six children, including Eve Cleary who died in 2019 hours after she was discharged from University Hospital Limerick. Earlier this year Eve’s family settled a High Court action over her death with the HSE and UHL who expressed “sincere condolences and deep regret”.

The campaign is still considering its options on whether to run candidates in the Clare and Tipperary constituencies.

A spokesperson for MWHC in Limerick, Charlotte Keane said: “We have tried protests, lobbying our public reps, petitions to Oireachtas committees – but it’s clear that the vested interests behind the decision to downgrade our A&Es in 2009 still hold sway. The politicians aren’t listening to us. To this day, still not one elected TD in Limerick city supports the re-opening of Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s A&Es. 

“We warned them in February of 2020 at our protest outside St John’s Hospital that we would come to Dublin if they didn’t re-open our A&Es. This is us following up on that pledge.”

Speaking after her selection as the Mid-West Hospital Campaign general election candidate, Melanie said she was never political or active in this way before Eve died.

"I thought that her death would be the catalyst for change, but nothing happened afterwards. Instead, more families have had to suffer as we did.

“Eve spent 17 hours on a trolley in UHL’s emergency department after she hurt herself slipping and falling on a footpath. A few hours after she was eventually admitted to a ward, she was discharged and told to go home and rest. Less than four hours later she suffered a cardiac arrest, caused by a blood clot that had travelled into her lung. Eve was just 21.

“I have written to everyone since Eve died – including the previous minister for health, and current Taoiseach – but nobody seems to want to act. Sometimes you wonder if this was happening in Dublin and not in Limerick, would it be allowed to continue?" said Melanie. 

She said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have "clearly committed to a path which in effect means the undermining of our public health system".

"We always understood that it would take a lot of effort to force them into a U-turn, and we were prepared to put that work in. Unfortunately, it seems that Sinn Féin have committed to not rocking the boat on issues such as this in case it might present a barrier to coalition with one of those parties after an election.

“We say that the evidence is overwhelming for the urgent need to restore emergency services in the Mid-West. We do not accept that there is any clinical argument that justifies the piling up of people on trolleys in UHL and any further delay will cost lives.”

READ MORE: Barristers to hold protest in Limerick as they strike for a second time over pay

The Garryowen native who is now living in Corbally went on to say that people might dismiss this as a single-issue campaign, but "we will make no apology for making every effort to put this crisis at the top of the national agenda".

"We have been ignored for far too long! We will have other positions that we will put forward, but the main thing I’d say is we are not going to accept the re-opening of our A&Es at the expense of any other community. We are not for robbing Peter to pay Paul. 

“We are demanding a restoration of services here and will support others fighting for the same. That goes for the nurses fighting for pay restoration and the ambulance workers who are looking for union recognition. We think the health workers on the frontline are absolute heroes and deserve to be treated as such by the government. 

“The health service’s workforce is very diverse and we oppose any attempt to sow division between communities. Anyone looking to get involved with our campaign will agree to a pledge that they also oppose racism and division.”