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Video of patient treatment not filmed at University Hospital Limerick, HSE says
HSE Mid West has concluded that a viral video showing a healthcare worker speaking dismissively to a patient was not filmed at University Hospital Limerick or any of its facilities. The woman who believed the patient was her late mother has apologised for the mistake.
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An investigation by HSE Mid West has determined that a video showing a healthcare worker treating a patient poorly was not filmed at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) or any other HSE Mid West site.
The footage, which has been viewed more than 200,000 times on social media, shows a healthcare worker abruptly telling a patient "no" after they ask for a cup of tea. The worker is also heard saying "You are crazy" and, when asked about food on the table, replies, "You can see, so why are you asking?"
The family of Ita Tobin, an 83-year-old woman with dementia who died in August 2025, had alleged the video was taken of her at UHL following a suspected heart attack. Aisling Hogan, Tobin's daughter, had gone public to seek answers from the HSE.
Following the investigation, HSE Mid West confirmed the video was not recorded at UHL and does not show Tobin. The hospital where the incident did occur has confirmed the footage originated there, and the patient involved has been identified with their family informed.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, Hogan said she was "wholeheartedly" sorry for being mistaken. "I am deeply sorry for getting this wrong," the statement read. "When I first saw the video, myself and my family genuinely and wholeheartedly believed the woman (patient) was our mother. We wholeheartedly apologise for the upset caused."
Hogan said she was shocked by the outcome of the HSE's enquiries and had no further comment.
HSE Mid West said it had made clear from the outset that the location, date, and circumstances of the footage had not been verified. A spokesperson said, "What is shown in the footage is deeply upsetting; concerns about the treatment of vulnerable patients must always be taken seriously and properly investigated. Our responsibility was to establish the facts before drawing conclusions about the patient, the healthcare worker or the hospital. That process has now been completed."
The spokesperson also expressed concern about the impact on staff across the Mid West, many of whom were subjected to criticism, abuse, and threats in relation to an incident for which they had no involvement. "Scrutiny of healthcare services is legitimate and necessary; abuse and threats are not," the spokesperson said.
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Framing: The video was not filmed at UHL, according to an investigation.
Facts Included:
HSE Mid West conducted an investigation after being made aware of the incident last week
The investigation concluded the video was not filmed in any HSE Mid West hospital and did not involve their staff
The video has been seen over 200,000 times on social media
The video shows a healthcare worker saying 'no' to a patient asking for a cup of tea, 'You are crazy,' and 'You can see, so why are you asking?'
The family of Ita Tobin alleged the video was taken at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) following a suspected heart attack
The video was not recorded at UHL and does not show Tobin
HSE Mid West said the hospital where the incident actually occurred confirmed the footage originated there
The patient involved has been identified and the family informed
HSE Mid West said they made it clear from the outset that the location, date, and circumstances were not verified
A spokesperson for HSE Mid West said: 'What is shown in the footage is deeply upsetting, concerns about the treatment of vulnerable patients must always be taken seriously and properly investigated.'
The spokesperson said: 'Our responsibility was to establish the facts before drawing conclusions...'
The spokesperson expressed concern about staff across the Mid West who faced criticism, abuse, and threats
The spokesperson said: 'Scrutiny of healthcare services is legitimate and necessary; abuse and threats are not.'
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimHSE Mid West said the video was not filmed at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) or any of its other hospital sites.
ClaimA spokesperson for HSE Mid West said: 'What is shown in the footage is deeply upsetting, concerns about the treatment of vulnerable patients must always be taken seriously and properly investigated.'
ClaimThe spokesperson said: 'Our responsibility was to establish the facts before drawing conclusions about the patient, the healthcare worker or the hospital. That process has now been completed.'
ClaimThe spokesperson expressed concern about the impact on staff across the Mid West, many of whom were subjected to criticism, abuse and threats in relation to an incident for which they had no involvement or responsibility.