A teenager who was 11 when he was put on medication, including an anti-psychotic drug, when he was treated by South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs), has settled a High Court action for €73,500.
In an affidavit to the High Court, the mother of the boy, who is now aged 15, said she did not want her son to be prescribed medication when he was seen by the South Kerry Camhs, but she was told it was going to “fix everything”.
The woman said in the April 2019 consultation after her son had been diagnosed with ADHD a few months before, she was told the medication would make him better and “people are in prison because they were not medicated”.
She said the comment “lives with me to this day.”
Counsel for the boy, Tony McGillicuddy SC with Ruaidhri Giblin BL, told the court that the mother with that comment “felt emotionally blackmailed”.
Counsel said the boy was prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Risperidone from May 2019 to November 2020, a period of about 18 months. Counsel said Risperidone is not the first line of treatment for ADHD and should only be used when other treatments are not working.
Inappropriate info
Counsel said part of the case was the mother in the April 2019 consultation with South Kerry Camhs was given inappropriate information and that it was allegedly said that people are in prison because they were not medicated.
Counsel said Risperidone acts as a sedative and the boy found it difficult to attend school, get out of bed at times and was unable to play soccer. There was also weight gain. Once the medication was discontinued, Counsel said it was reported the boy was able to return to a more normal position.
The effects of the sedation, Counsel said was the boy withdrew from his family and socially when he was at a very tender age.
In her affidavit, the mother said her son when he was nearly 8 years of age had been referred to South Kerry Camhs in January 2016 due to concerns raised by his teacher regarding possible ADHD, poor attention span and distractibility.
Referring to the April 2019 consultation with Camhs after his diagnosis, she said she felt pressurised into giving her son the medications “exposing him to adverse effects which were not controlled, monitored, supervised or reviewed properly or at all.”
She said her son was prescribed Risperidone from May 2019 to November 2020 - approximately 18 months. The sedation he experienced, she said, affected him both at school and at home, which significantly increased in severity when the Risperidone was increased to three times a day in February 2020.
She said despite numerous adverse effects her son's "flawed treatment" continued until the Risperidone was discontinued in November 2020.
A year later, she said she was invited to a meeting with senior HSE managers who, she said apologised “for deficits in the standard of my son’s care.” This she said included inappropriate prescribing of risperidone without a clear rationale identified; poor treatment quality due to inadequate metabolic workup and that he may have been sedated while at school.
Mr Justice Paul Coffey last week approved the settlement and said it was fair and reasonable.
A State compensation scheme was set up in 2022 after the controversy over the care provided by South Kerry Camhs was revealed.
A look back review of the care of 1300 young people who attended the HSE-run service also took place. It found that the care received by 240 young people did not meet the standards which it should have, and it detailed significant harm to 46 children.
