HSE pays out €300k to three teens over CAMHS scandal

THE HSE has in recent days made three separate settlements in the High Court, totalling over €300,000, arising out of the South Kerry Child and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) scandal.

They were awarded to children who were prescribed an antipsychotic drug during treatment by CAMHS, with the stand-out settlement of €200,000 awarded to a now 16-year-old girl, believed to be the highest sum to date.

The girl suffered from anxiety, self-harm and bulimia as a consequence of being inappropriately prescribed anti-psychotic medication by a junior doctor.

On Friday, the court heard the girl was one of the children whose cases featured in the Maskey Report, a review published in 2022 which highlighted diagnostic and prescribing issues.

The report found some 240 children were exposed to risky treatment at South Kerry CAMHS between July 2016 and June 2020, with proof of “significant harm” in 46 cases.

Most of those children, including the girl in question, had been in the care of Dr David Kromer, a barely supervised junior doctor. He is not practicing now and is under Medical Council investigation.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was “a very distressing case” and that the girl had “suffered enormously”.

On Monday, further settlements included an award of €77,500 to a 16-year-old boy and €30,000 to a 13-year-old boy.

In addition to the compensation in each case, an “uplift” sum was added by the mediator reviewing the cases. This was done with regard to the way each boy and their families were treated by South Kerry CAMHS, the court heard.

A GIRL who suffered from anxiety, self-harm and bulimia as a consequence of being inappropriately prescribed anti-psychotic medication by a junior doctor at South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) has settled a High Court action against the HSE for €200,000.

The settlement on Friday is the highest linked to the diagnostic and prescribing scandal at the service, which came to light after disclosures by a whistleblower.

The court heard the now 16-yearold girl was one of the children featured in the Maskey Report.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was “a very distressing case” and that the girl had “suffered enormously”.

Details of the matter were outlined to the judge by John Gordon SC, instructed by solicitor Keith Rolls of Coleman Legal. Both the girl and her mother were in court. Mr Gordon said they were “content” with the offer made by the HSE.

The girl, who cannot be identified by order of the court, began attending the service in 2019 when she was aged twelve.

She was diagnosed with a panic disorder, emotional regulation difficulty, maladaptive coping strategies and behavioural issues.

While her mother was initially opposed to her being medicated, she ultimately reluctantly agreed and her child was prescribed Sertraline, an anti-depressant drug, and Risperidone, an anti-psychotic.

The girl had a prior diagnosis of hypothyroidism and gained a significant amount of weight very quickly while on the medications.

She also experienced panic attacks in school and her prolactin levels increased, leading to a reduction in her Risperidone dosage.

However, the following year she was prescribed two further antipsychotic drugs, Aripiprazole and Seroquel. According to her mother, these medications triggered additional, very worrying changes.

Her daughter gained an additional 20kgs over course of a year, became argumentative and irritable, zoned out and struggled to focus at school, becoming socially withdrawn. Her panic attacks worsened.

The girl also developed intrusive thoughts and suicidal intent, which ultimately led to an admission to A&E at Tralee General Hospital.

Whilst there, she came under the care of Dr Maya Sharma, formerly known as Dr Ankur Sharma, a locum consultant child psychiatrist.

Dr Sharma was the whistleblower whose concerns led to the exposure of the scandal.

Mr Gordon said Dr Sharma “recognised she was on the entirely wrong mediation and stopped it”.

“The period she was on these drugs was very damaging,” the senior counsel said.

It later emerged during counselling sessions that the girl had a history of bulimia, dating back to her weight gain.

Papers put before the court outlined how the girl described her experience with CAMHS in late 2019 and early 2020 as “frightening”, saying she felt her symptoms got worse, she hated her body and felt she could not control her weight.

A clinical psychologist who examined her was of the opinion the girl’s symptoms of increased anxiety, self harm and bulimia were avoidable and were a direct consequence of the antipsychotic medication she was prescribed.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Coffey said: “This is a very distressing case. [The girl] has suffered enormously. I am only delighted now to learn that everything is going the way it should be and that she is receiving the care she is entitled to.”

The court is to rule on further settlements relating to the scandal.

Several other children already had settlements ranging between €60,000 and €130,000.