Watchdog demands review of Butler case

The mental health watchdog has demanded a review of the HSE’s care of a depressed Cork father who strangled his two young daughters before killing himself.

John Butler’s widow, Una Butler, has been campaigning for family members to be kept fully informed and included in the treatment of parents with mental illness because of the potential risk to children.

A HSE internal review concluded there were no shortcomings in the services it provided, but the Mental Health Commission has now formally requested the case be looked at again by the national director of quality and patient safety.