Findings of mental health services review ‘shocking and very serious’
A review of the care of more than 1,300 children who went to the South Kerry Camhs found that 46 children suffered significant harm.
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Your support makes all the difference.The findings of a review of mental health services in Co Kerry is “shocking and very serious”, the Taoiseach has said.
Micheal Martin has demanded a country-wide audit of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) teams.
A review of the care of more than 1,300 children who went to the South Kerry Camhs found that 46 children suffered significant harm.
The HSE report found that hundreds of children received “risky” treatment at the hands of a doctor working in the service.
The review of the young people who attended the mental health services found that the 46 children suffered significant harm, lethargy, distress, raised blood pressure, significant weight gain and the production of breast milk.
Concerns raised about the doctor, who is not named in the report, sparked a review of the services.
Mr Martin told the Dail on Wednesday that the findings demand a “fundamental review” of child and adolescent mental health services.
“To be frank, it is not a resources issue. The resources are there to make appointments,” he added.
“It seems there have been ongoing difficulties over the years in recruiting senior clinicians in psychiatry to these posts in certain parts of the country and especially in Camhs.
What happened is unacceptable, it represents a damning indictment of the service
“In addition, a prescribing audit will be conducted in each of the 72 Camhs teams.
“It will include a random selection of files proportional to the medical caseload from a continuous six-month predefined period in 2021.
“I have an open mind concerning how we pursue this issue further.”
Mr Martin went on to describe the report as a “profoundly serious issue”.
“I have read the executive summary of the report, it is shocking and very serious,” he added.
“What happened is unacceptable. It represents a damning indictment of the service.
“The first principle of medicine is to do no harm.
“Children were harmed here by a complete failure of clinical performance and oversight and by the entire management of the service.”
The trauma these children and their families endured is unimaginable
Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall said the report is “truly shocking”.
“Instead of helping their children, the service actually harmed them.
“The treatment of 227 children by a junior doctor, who is not named in the report although he has been named in the media, was deemed risky,” Ms Shortall added.
“The trauma these children and their families endured is unimaginable.
“While this junior doctor’s prescribing practices and the inappropriate use of combinations of drugs, including anti-psychotic drugs, were clearly appalling, the damage caused to children would not have been as long-lasting or extensive if he had been properly supervised.
“Of course, he was not. The report details a service that was entirely chaotic.”
She said that Kerry Camhs does not have a full-time consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, and has not had one since 2016.
“Some of the 35 recommendations included in the report raise fundamental questions about whether the service is actually hopelessly deficient,” she added.
“The whistleblower here, Dr Ankur Sharma, was a locum consultant psychiatrist appointed in 2020.
“He has now resigned from the HSE because he said he received no support and was sidelined after he blew the whistle.”