Parents of girl (17) who died under care of Kerry Camhs sues HSE

High Court reporters

The parents of a 17-year-old girl who took her own life while under the care of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Kerry have launched a High Court action.

The couple who cannot be named by order of the court are suing for nervous shock over the death of their daughter four years ago.

Their lawyer Patrick Treacy SC instructed by Cian O Carroll solicitors told the court how in July 2021 the girl’s mother and father found their daughter in an upstairs bedroom of their home, where she had died by suicide.

He said afterwards they “were left in a state of utter devastation” and their shock and trauma was not possible to describe.

The “essential tragedy here”, Counsel said is that the teenager’s parents never got a diagnosis from CAMHS of their daughter having a psychiatric condition.

The girl, the court heard had attended some appointments with CAMHS but after she missed a speech and language appointment in May 2021 there was no contact about the non-attendance.

The girl’s mother made repeated contact with CAMHS, expressing increasing concerns about her daughter’s deteriorating mental health and requesting an appointment.

Counsel said the 17-year-old had also called into CAMHS, looking for an appointment.

In the proceedings it is claimed there was there was an alleged failure to provide any or any adequate medical care, treatment or advice to the girl from the time of presentation at University Hospital Kerry or at CAMHS South Kerry including one date in 2020 and four dates in 2021 and following telephone calls from her mother and her own attendance at CAMHS requesting assistance.

Counsel said it is their case that both the mother and father are suffering from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and a prolonged grief reaction. The HSE side contends the couple are not suffering from psychiatric illness, but grief.

Ms Justice Denise Brett was told that a breach of duty is admitted by the HSE in the case but causation remains an issue.

Counsel said the teenager had, at the end of October 2020, been referred by her GP to University Hospital Kerry complaining of deteriorating mental health with low mood and suicidal thoughts.

She was immediately referred to CAMHS Kerry and attended a first appointment there with her mother a month later. An assessment was carried out, Counsel said no risk assessment or management plan was recorded in the girl’s file.

In March 2020, Counsel said the girl attended CAMHS for her first medical appointment, but no care plan was recorded and while the psychiatrist verbally offered a follow-up appointment, no further arrangements were made for a clinical follow-up.

The teenager, Counsel said, was offered speech and language appointments and attended three in March and April but missed her May appointment. Counsel said no contact was made about the non-attendance.

Her mother, he said, made repeated contact with CAMHS, expressing increasing concern about her daughter’s deteriorating mental health and requesting an appointment and the teenager herself also called in to CAMHS looking for an appointment.

“Her file was not reviewed, and no care plan was put in place,” Counsel said.

In the proceedings it is claimed there was there was an alleged failure to provide any or any adequate medical care, treatment or advice to the girl from the time for presentation at University Hospital Kerry or at CAMHS Kerry including one date in 2020 and four dates in 2021 and following telephone calls from her mother and her own attendance at CAMHS requesting assistance.

It is also claimed there was an alleged failure to have any regard for the girl's symptoms, including symptoms of moderate to severe mental illness, suicidal ideations, and possible psychosis.

There was, it is contended, a failure to carry out any adequate assessments of the young woman and a failure to monitor her adequately or at all.

There was, it was claimed, an alleged inappropriate focus on speech and language assessment.

It is further claimed there was an alleged failure to have any adequate systems, processes, structures or procedures to adequately care for patients presenting with mental illness.

The case before Ms Justice Denise Brett is expected to last six days.