Almost all of the children identified as having suffered harm while being treated by mental health services in south Kerry have received compensation, a Minister has said.
In 2022, the Health Service Executive (HSE) published a review, known as the Maskey report, into allegations that young people who attended mental health services in south Kerry were prescribed inappropriate medication.
The final report said hundreds of children attending the child and adolescent mental health services (Camhs) received “risky” treatment from a doctor working in mental health in south Kerry and significant harm was caused to 46 of them.
The review examined the treatment of more than 1,300 young people who attended the south Kerry Camhs over a four-year period.
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Speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday, Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health Mary Butler said the Maskey review highlighted that 240 children experienced harm through this service.
Of these, some 231 have gone through the “non-adversarial compensation scheme”, she said, adding that she believes it’s “a lesson for us all” in terms of not requiring affected families to go through the court system.
Following the south Kerry review, the HSE announced it was carrying out a second review into Camhs in north Kerry.
This report has been finished and was submitted to the Minister over the weekend and she is considering “next steps”.
“All families where the potential for harm was identified were invited to open-disclosure meetings,” she told politicians on Wednesday.
“I will publish it [the final report] as soon as possible with the next two weeks.”
Butler said she will send the report to families by registered post first, then will share it with Cabinet and then it will be published.
“I hope to put in place a non-adversarial compensation scheme again,” she added.
Separately, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill provided a written update to the committee on the new national children’s hospital.
So far, she said, the State has only been able to access 429 of the 1,700 rooms intended for early access.
The latest substantial completion date is April 30th, but when asked whether this will be met, the Minister said “that’s up to BAM [the building company]”.
Carroll MacNeill said more than 10,000 defects remain, including damage to floors, walls and ceilings, mechanical systems not installed correctly and leaks from services.
The April 30th completion date is the 18th target for the hospital and represents a 40-month delay.
The Minister said the national paediatric hospital development board, the body responsible for the delivery of the hospital, has leveraged elements of its contract in response to the delays.
However, she added that she does not believe the current contract structure is “appropriate” and the Government “won’t do that again” for forthcoming capital projects.
