Boy (15) settles case over care at South Kerry mental health service for €92,500

A 15-year-old boy affected by the care he received at South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) has had a settlement of €92,500 approved by the High Court.

This is the first case brought before the High Court in relation to care provided by South Kerry CAMHS.

It is understood a number of other cases involving children under 18 years-of-age will be brought before the High Court in coming months for approval of settlements reached after mediation under the State compensation scheme which was set up last year. It was established after controversy over the care provided at South Kerry CAMHS.

The mother of the boy in this case sent apologies to the court that she could not be present for the ruling before Mr Justice Paul Coffey as her son needs constant care.

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Her senior counsel, David Sutton, told the High Court a nonstatutory compensation scheme had been set up for those affected by care received at South Kerry CAMHS and the boy was identified as a person affected by the “malpractice”.

He said it was very difficult to value the case but the settlement was for €87,500, of which €10,000 had already been paid out to the family along with a further €5,000 to cover expenses.

Mr Justice Coffey approved the settlement.

In the proceedings against the Health Service Executive (HSE), it was claimed the boy became a patient at South Kerry CAMHS in 2013. It was claimed he suffered personal injuries due to the way medication was prescribed, and an alleged failure to adequately monitor the effects of prescribed medication.

He had been referred due to behavioural difficulties that worsened when he started national school.

An initial assessment was carried out in early 2014. The CAMHS assessment ruled out Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He was diagnosed as having an attachment disorder with behavioural difficulties. It was recommended he have a special needs assistant at school.

It was claimed he was diagnosed with ADHD with ASD features three years later in a private assessment and was started on Ritalin ADHD medication.

He was referred to CAMHS again due to significant behavioural difficulties at school in December 2017. He was seen by a doctor and the Ritalin was discontinued, it was claimed. He was started on another drug which is intended as a second-line treatment for ADHD.

It was claimed that while he was under the care of that doctor, therapeutic input was limited to the prescribing of medication and there was alleged inadequate monitoring of the medication’s side effects or therapeutic effect.

It was claimed that over a period of 16 months, the dosage of the new drug was increased to 5mg daily which it was claimed is in excess of the recommended daily dose.

It was claimed there was no clear rationale for this increased dosage recorded in the clinical file.

Treatment with other medications began in January 2018 and was increased over a period of two years. Treatment with another medication started in April 2019 and increased in 2020.

The boy’s mother did not believe the medication was having a beneficial effect and the child was reported to have become more aggressive and started to lash out physically.

In January this year a consultant child psychiatrist who examined the teenager said there was a significant delay in the diagnosis of ADHD.

Last year there was a review of the care of 1,300 young people who attended the HSE-run South Kerry CAMHS over a four-year period.

It described the treatment of hundreds of children by a doctor working in mental health in South Kerry as “risky” and found proof of significant harm to 46 children.

The care and treatment of 13 other children by other doctors was also risky. The report found no extreme or catastrophic harm was caused to patients.

Outside the Four Courts, the teenager’s solicitor, Dan O’Connor, called for a public inquiry into “all matters affecting the CAMHS situation in Kerry and beyond”. Such an inquiry “should be without restrictions as to timelines or geography”.

He added: “This scheme is only designed for children affected in the south Kerry region. We are aware of children in north Kerry and beyond the county that are also affected in a similar manner.”