Anger as ‘harm ’ still unknown
Many affected children are still without essential new treatment
NONE of the families at the centre of the Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services scandal have been told if their children are among those who suffered ‘significant harm’, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
It has also emerged that many children affected by the misdiagnosis controversy are still without any treatment whatsoever, because their families have still not been provided with alternative consultants.
The MoS has learned several teenagers described as ‘academically brilliant’ before they were prescribed the wrong medication have missed out on their Leaving Cert exams and their lives have been ‘completely altered’.
In one shocking case, a young girl was prescribed an anti-psychotic drug by a doctor in south Kerry after she had split up with her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, it also emerged this weekend that the mental health services scandal that has engulfed south Kerry has now extended into the north of the county.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed to the MoS that it will carry out a scoping review of 50 patient files in north Kerry to be carried out by an external expert.
Gardaí are considering a criminal investigation
A HSE spokeswoman said the scope of the audit is intended to provide ‘assurance to ourselves [The HSE] and the public about the quality of the service provided’, adding: ‘We cannot pre-empt what that audit may find.’
This review will be separate to the nationwide audit announced by Taoiseach Micheál Martin last week.
Gardaí are considering a criminal investigation into the issues arising from the Maskey report published last week.
A Garda spokesman confirmed families have approached them in relation to the review. He told the MoS: ‘A number of relevant contacts have been received in relation to concerns arising from the Report on the Look-Back Review into Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services County MHS Area.’
The report, carried out by Dr Seán Maskey, into the care and treatment provided in south Kerry by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from July 2016 to April 2021, found that 227 children treated by a junior doctor employed by the service, had been exposed to the risk of significant harm through his diagnoses and treatment of them.
Dr Maskey’s review found a junior doctor prescribed inappropriate medication to children attending mental health services in south Kerry, sometimes out of hours by phone.
Dr David Kromer, who graduated in the Czech Republic, was also moonwas lighting in the beauty industry injecting Botox in beauty salons in different counties.
Attempts to contact Dr Kromer this week were unsuccessful.
Some 46 children were identified as having suffered significant harm. A further 13 children suffered harm and were found to have been unnecessarily exposed to a risk of harm under the care of other doctors in
the service. The MoS has learned of shocking instances that occurred as a result of the incorrect prescription of drugs to children.
As well as the teenage girl who
prescribed anti-psychotic medication, some children diagnosed with ADHD were prescribed Risperidone, a drug typically used to treat bipolar syndrome and schizophrenia, causing an increase in the hormone prolactin, which causes lactation in girls and also boys.
A solicitor representing more than 150 families affected by the scandal said the public doesn’t fully understand
the scale of the damage caused to children as a direct result of the kinds of medications prescribed by the service.
Keith Rolls, of Coleman Solicitors, said some children were ‘academically brilliant’ before they attended CAMHS for treatment.
But their ability to concentrate was subsequently diminished to the point where they couldn’t attend school, and in some cases they were
incapable of sitting State exams.
He said around 100 of his clients all suffered in some way academically after undergoing treatment in south Kerry CAMHS.
Mr Rolls told the MoS: ‘All of this is so stark, particularly when you see how well they were doing in school.
‘Then, unfortunately, they were advised to go to CAMHS where they were immediately given an ADHD
diagnosis, prescribed medication and then they’ve missed years of school.
‘Some of them were quite good students who haven’t sat their Leaving Cert and probably never will.
‘People don’t fully grasp the impact that this has had; children have been set back years and years as a result of the medications they were put on.
‘These medications have been so
harmful. The report does highlight these issues but I don’t think people fully get the long term effect all of this has on children.’
Mr Rolls criticised the HSE for its lack of correspondence with families in the aftermath of the report.
He said the families he represents are highly anxious to know where they stand in the context of the categorisations within the report, whether their child is considered to be one of the 46 who suffered ‘significant harm’ or one of the 240 ‘put at risk of serious harm’.
Parents affected by the care provided by Kerry CAMHS were called to a meeting in November 2 last year, where they were apologised to and given an opportunity to speak if they wished. They were also told an investigation would take place into the misdiagnosis scandal.
However, there has been no clarity for parents, who have been left with many questions since the publication of the report, particularly in relation to how their child has been categorised by Dr Maskey.
The HSE has said it is providing families affected with access to care outside of Kerry. However, Mr Rolls said this has not been the experience of his clients, who are struggling to access appropriate care for their children, even after the damning report’s publication.
The solicitor also said questions remain over letters sent to parents from the HSE assuring them that their child suffered ‘no harm’ while being treated during 2016 to 2021.
Mr Rolls questioned the HSE’s conclusions, saying medical records on children in Kerry CAMHS have shown glaring inaccuracies, in some cases not including medications children were taking for years.
He told the MoS: ‘In south Kerry, families are very concerned about the “no harm” correspondence they have received, and rightly so. The HSE is completely unaware of the volume of missing medical records. The State must act immediately and stop hiding behind their apology.
‘Families cannot understand why they have not been contacted to clarify what medication their children
They’re unaware if they are one of the 46 harmed
have been prescribed. Missing medical records does not constitute “no harm”’.
Mr Rolls said families are ‘very upset’ after reviewing the report, adding: ‘They now know that a lot of this could have been prevented.’
Despite this, he said many children affected by the scandal ‘are still not getting the treatment they so desperately need. They are completely unaware if they are one of the “46” families who have been subjected to significant harm. Some of the families have not heard anything since receiving an apology.’
The HSE told the MoS it was not able to discuss why families were not informed on where they stood in the context of the Maskey report.
A spokeswoman said: ‘The review found that the care received by 240 young people at South Kerry CAMHS did not meet the standards which it should have, and we have apologised sincerely to these young people and their families.
‘We accepted Dr Maskey’s comprehensive report in full, and we are acting on all 35 of his recommendations.
‘In all of those [240] cases, we have offered apologies. We are committed to maintaining contact with and offering support to all of those young people … not just to a section of this group,’ the spokeswoman added.
Gardaí have also urged ‘any parent of a juvenile who they believe may have suffered harm and wishes to contact An Garda Síochána in Kerry’ to get in touch.
Concerned parents can email KY. CAMHSKerry@garda.ie or call their local Garda station.