A BROKEN SYSTEM

CHILD protection services are “dysfunctional, ineffective and inconsistent” and do not safeguard the rights, welfare and best interests of a child, a former HSE social worker has claimed.

Mary- Rose Waterman, who now works in Australia, said the death of teenager Christopher O’Driscoll — with whom she closely worked for two years — demonstrated a clear need for a radical overhaul of child protection services.

According to Ms Waterman the 17-year-old Cork boy met an “untimely and inhumane” death last year because of “serious inadequacies” within the social services sector.

An inquest last month heard how the body of Christopher O’Driscoll was found clutching a pair of rosary beads in a derelict house in Cork in May 2009.

His tragic case joins almost 190 other vulnerable young people who, over the past 10 years, have died while known to, or in the care of, child protection services.

Ms Waterman worked with Christopher at Pathways, a hostel in Cork city for homeless young men, and said staff had “desperately” wanted to help the teenager, but they lacked the tools, resources and influential status to make a difference in his life.

She said his short life was spent “floating” through an inconsistent and dysfunctional child protection service.

According to Ms Waterman, who maintains she was compelled to speak after learning of Christopher’s death, the 17-year-old needed “vigorous intervention” of services to save his life.

Regrettably, she claims, plans to help him never developed due to his social workers’ lack of authority and the unwillingness of other stakeholders to come on board.

“My question is — how did it get to this point? How did a child under the full care of the HSE die in such horrific circumstances?

“Christopher’s intensive case was well known for some time to medical practitioners, community services, statutory services, and the judicial services. But somehow he went unnoticed and without adequate care,” she said.

Ms Waterman, who is from Cork and left the HSE position of her own accord, said she did not want to play a “blame game” but said the social services are a top-heavy system in which social workers follow invalid protocol.

In a deeply moving tribute to the young man, Ms Waterman said Christopher was in crisis since the day he was born and felt unloved and unwanted by most.

Despite his problems, she said Christopher was an articulate, highly emotional and intelligent young person with a great sense of humour.

“The name Christopher O’Driscoll will forever remain with me through my personal and professional lifetime,” she said.

Ms Waterman’s words are yet another damning indictment of the HSE’s management of child protection and welfare services and mirror recent comments from child protection chief Fergus Finlay, who said “serious consideration” must be given to whether the HSE should be left in charge of child protection services.

Local HSE health manager Gretta Crowley said everyone involved, from senior managers to social workers, deeply regretted that the young man died while in the care of the HSE.

Childcare manager Kieran Campbell said the unexpected death of a child under any circumstances is a tragedy, but particularly so when efforts to care for vulnerable children break down.