Families and children 'abused by the State' due to Camhs failures

Mr Daly said there was still a lot of 'hurt and frustration', with parents of children who entered into Camhs blaming themselves.

Families and children were “abused by the State” due to serious failures at mental health services in North Kerry, a local TD has said.

Sinn Féin’s Pa Daly said there is still “a lot of hurt” for families impacted by failures at North Kerry’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs), as HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster formally apologised to children and families on Thursday.

“They were not let down by the State, they were neglected by the State, abused by the State,” Mr Daly said.

A review, published on Wednesday, found that the level of care provided to children in North Kerry’s Camhs had been “inconsistent with standard practice”.

The report found that over 55% of cases reviewed involved risks. It found that two children were at a major risk, 195 children were at a moderate risk, and 12 children were at a minor risk.

This means more than half of the 374 children whose cases were active in November 2022 were affected in some way.

Mr Daly highlighted how the report found that 94% of children with an intellectual disability who used the service were prescribed psychotropic medication generally.

“The most vulnerable of children — those with disabilities — all of them were harmed and all of them were medicated,” Mr Daly said.

He said there was still a lot of “hurt and frustration”, with parents of children who entered into Camhs blaming themselves.

Calls to expand compensation scheme

Mr Daly said the compensation scheme for children harmed in South Kerry Camhs should be expanded “as soon as possible” to include those affected in North Kerry.

It comes as Ms Gloster apologised “unequivocally” to families and children impacted by the serious failures in North Kerry Camhs.

Mr Gloster said the mental health services provided to children and teenagers in North Kerry had been “far below the acceptable standards”.

“I am truly sorry for the harm caused, and we will continue to work to improve, reform, and invest in mental health services for young people in Kerry and, indeed, throughout the country,” Mr Gloster said.

For families and children attending services today, I want to offer reassurance that our services will respond to you and it is a safe service unlike that which led to this review

The HSE chief executive said he is conscious that Camhs users in Kerry and beyond have had confidence in the system “eroded”.

“While all of our improvements are good and welcome, there is no doubt but that our services in Kerry were so far below the acceptable standards as to cause risk of harm," he said.

“That is unacceptable, it is not good enough. For that, I am sincerely sorry. I have also clarified that the HSE has made a referral to the Medical Council in this case, and it is important that their assessment is allowed to progress.”

Mr Gloster said there would be a “significant programme” of service improvements after the publication of the review, while adding there would be investment to ensure recommendations are implemented.

Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry Michael Cahill called on the Government to provide impacted children and families with a State apology.

• Tadgh McNally is a Political Reporter with the Irish Examiner.