Minister wanted South Kerry Camhs audit to cover case files for all diagnoses, not just ADHD

The HSE told an Oireachtas committee that the audit would be limited to young people with an ADHD diagnosis, just days after Minister Mary Butler sought a broader investigation

Mary Butler, Minister of state for mental health, had written a letter to Anne O’Connor, HSE Chief Operations Officer on March 3 "that an audit of prescribing practices based on a random sample of case files to include any and all diagnoses, and not to be confined to ADHD, should be undertaken in line with my original request". File photo: Gary Ashe / RollingNews.ie

The Minister for Mental Health had requested the HSE broaden its audit of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) before senior HSE personnel told an Oireachtas Committee it would be limited to young people with an ADHD diagnosis.

Anne O’Connor, HSE Chief Operations Officer and others appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Health on March 2, outlining how the initial audit would be limited, arguing that this was in line with the recommendations of the Maskey Report into the scandal in South Kerry Camhs.