Teenager with autism awarded €130,000 over treatment by South Kerry Camhs
High Court reporters
A 15-year-old autistic boy who it was determined was let down and badly treated by South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) in the past has been awarded €130,000.
It is the highest award so far against the HSE related to the care provided by the South Kerry Camhs.
It was one of four cases before the High Court on Friday for approval of determinations after mediation and a settlement under the State compensation scheme which was set up last year after the controversy over the care provided by South Kerry Camhs was revealed.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey approved three determinations by the mediator amounting to a total of €250,000 and one €92,000 settlement.
Counsel for the teenager who was awarded €130,000, David Sutton SC, instructed by Dan O’Connor, told the court it is the highest award so far in these cases and represents the full value of the case.
Mediator Hugh Mohan SC, in his report to the court on the case of the now 15-year-old boy who has ADHD and Autistic Spectrum Disorder, said he was first referred to Camhs in late 2017.
In a report prepared earlier this year, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist said the boy was inappropriately treated with an antipsychotic drug for one and a half years and another drug for same amount of time.
Mr Mohan said the child's mother reported that her son's mood and attitude change considerably over this period of time “when he went from a happy smiley kid to a zombie-like state”.
His school principal also reported that he would constantly have to wake him up.
Mr Mohan said the boy was somebody who undoubtedly had some issues and, in an attempt to deal with them, he sought treatment which “left him much worse off”.
'Let down'
“He was in a very vulnerable situation and far from getting help, he was let down and badly treated,” the mediator concluded in his determination.
He also said that instead of being monitored and overseen, the boy was “ignored and treated very poorly over a prolonged period of time”.
In another case before the court which was also the subject of a determination, a 15-year-old boy was awarded €40,000 for the care he received at South Kerry Camhs.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told that in another sad case involving a now teenage girl, a determination for €80,000 had been made. Mr Sutton said it involved inappropriate prescription and the young girl had been treated in a “very unpleasant brusque way”.
In the fourth case before the court, a settlement of €92,000 was approved for the now 16-year-old boy in a case around his prescription of an anti-psychotic drug, as well as a general lack of care.
Approving the determinations and settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey wished all the young people the best for the future.
Last year, a look-back review of the care of 1,300 young people who attended the HSE run South Kerry Child Camhs over a four-year period took place.
It described the treatment of hundreds of children received from a doctor working in mental health in South Kerry as “risky” and found proof of significant harm to 46 children.
