According to the most recent data, 29 children or adolescents known to Tusla, including those in care or aftercare, tragically passed away last year. This is an unfortunate increase of six deaths compared to the year 2022. The National Review Panel (NRP), which operates independently of Tusla and investigates severe incidents involving this group that lead to fatal or life-altering injuries, presented this data in its annual report on Thursday.
Among those who passed away, 16 were boys or young men, while 13 were girls or young women. They all were either being looked after by the state or were recognised by child protection services during their death.
Examination of causes of these 29 deaths indicate that 18 were due to natural causes, 4 resulted from suicides, 5 were accidental, while for two, the causes are still a mystery and are pending official confirmation through coroner’s inquests. Furthermore, only two of the 29 were under state care while they passed away, with their deaths attributed to accidental and suicidal causes, respectively.
On a brighter note, the report mentions a decrease of one in the mortality rate of children living within their communities and using aftercare services. The age distribution of these children is as follows: 13 were less than a year old; 7 were between 11 and 16 years old; 5 were between 17 and 20 years old; and 1 girl was aged between 6 and 10 years.
The NRP chose to conduct an in-depth review of 10 out of these 29 deaths, which interestingly included a 16-year-old suicide, a sudden infant death syndrome case, and two murders of young children, none of whom were in state care at the time of their deaths.
This report offers a 14-year retrospective from 2010 to 2023, revealing that 315 children and young people passed away during this period. Whilst 139 (44%) died of natural causes, a worrying 22% (70 children) ended their lives through suicide.
The report reveals that out of the young individuals who succumbed to suicide, twenty-three were either in foster care or were recent care leavers. The typical age span of these individuals was from 12 to 22 years old, with a significant proportion aged between 15-16 and 17-18 years.
The report also noted that several of these children had been pointed towards the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), with a select few benefiting from regular service. However, in order to qualify for a CAMHS service, the youngster must possess a diagnosed treatable mental illness. This prerequisite does not include cases of suicidal ideation alone. It came to light that if a self-harming youth is brought to the hospital, they have a possibility of receiving a referral to CAMHS, only to be subsequently discharged on the grounds that they are not considered mentally ill.
Despite the diverse level of responsiveness of CAMHS’s services, the report stresses that referrals of suicidal young individuals to CAMHS generally yields ineffective results. With an average yearly record of 24 death notifications since 2010 in mind, the report recognises a noticeable increase in referrals to statutory social work services from 29,277 in 2010 to an impressive 91,924 in 2023.
Notably, these fatalities predominantly resulted from natural causes, spanning a plethora of conditions including inborn and chronic diseases. Included are childhood illnesses such as cancer and viral infections, and sudden unexplained infant deaths.