Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The report into the south Kerry child and adolescent mental health service, CAMHS, is truly shocking. It is very distressing for all of the families concerned. These parents did the right thing and went to south Kerry CAMHS to get professional help for their children. Some waited up to two years to access that service. Instead of helping their children, the service actually harmed them. The treatment of 227 children by a junior doctor, who is not named in the report although he has been named in the media, was deemed risky. Some 46 children suffered significant harm, including lethargy, distress, raised blood pressure, significant weight gain and even the production of breast milk. The trauma these children and their families endured is unimaginable. While this junior doctor's prescribing practices and the inappropriate use of combinations of drugs, including antipsychotic drugs, were clearly appalling, the damage caused to children would not have been as long-lasting or extensive if he had been properly supervised. Of course, he was not. The report details a service that was entirely chaotic. Concerns were raised about this doctor in 2018 but these concerns were not followed up on. In fact, the doctor was recommended for other jobs in 2020. There has been no full-time consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist in south Kerry CAMHS since 2016. There is still no full-time consultant.

This report details endemic problems with south Kerry CAMHS, but media reports today suggest that a review is also to be undertaken in north Kerry CAMHS. I am sure that many families accessing CAMHS across the country now have questions they wish to be answered. It should be noted that there are nearly 3,000 children on CAMHS waiting lists. Most of these have been waiting for an appointment for more than three months.

What is going to be done to ensure accountability for what happened in south Kerry CAMHS? Is anyone other than the junior doctor in question going to lose his or her job or even be formally reprimanded? When will a full-time consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist be appointed to south Kerry CAMHS? Is the Government going to authorise a wider inquiry into CAMHS around the country to ensure the care of children is receiving appropriate supervision and resourcing in order to restore public confidence?

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