The UK High Court recently granted a €200,000 compensation to a 16-year-old girl who claimed to have endured significant harm due to the standard of care she received from south Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Ireland. She alleged that improper prescription of antipsychotic medications led to her developing bulimia nervosa and exposed her to a foreseeable risk of harm, even prompting her to attempt suicide at the tender age of thirteen.
The settlement against the HSE is the largest sanctioned by the court in numerous cases related to inappropriate treatment by south Kerry CAMHS. These cases emerged from a broader examination of around 1,300 patient care files.
The 2022 Maskey report, commissioned by HSE due to concerns about clinical practice raised in September 2020, disclosed that 240 children did not receive adequate care and that 46 of them suffered extensive harm.
The plaintiff was first referred to the HSE-managed south Kerry service five years prior, at age twelve, due to panic attacks, stress, self-harming tendencies and anxiety. Her treatment included antidepressant Setraline and antipsychotic Risperidone, which was later substituted with Quetiapine and Aripiprazole, as per her senior counsel, John Gordon.
Mr. Gordon claimed that his client’s health drastically declined due to the medication alterations, resulting in severe injuries. Although she was only on these medications for a relatively short period, he argued that the damage was substantial.
The girl’s symptoms worsened including increased anxiety, distress and tiredness. She also gained over 20kg and developed a more severe self-harming habit. As a result of her weight gain, she was bullied which in turn exacerbated her bulimia. She is still undergoing treatment for the condition.
In the litigations, it was noted that her mother took her to a hospital in September 2020, where her treatment was reviewed by a psychiatrist who discontinued her antipsychotic prescription of Aripiprazole.
In a lawsuit brought by her mother, the girl asserted that the Health and Social Care (HSE) admitted to falling short in the quality of care provided. They accepted that she was harmed, but due to poor monitoring of her case, the degree of damage remains unascertainable. The girl accused the HSE of negligent behaviour and a breach of duty in prescribing Risperidone, a drug which she alleges is not renowned for treating anxiety attacks in teenagers. She claimed that they were also errant in maintaining the prescription and upscaling the dosage even after her family doctor revealed elevated prolactin hormones, which stimulate lactation and breast growth.
Furthermore, she blamed the HSE for their recklessness in prescribing dual antipsychotic drugs concurrently, and for allegedly not documenting the reasoning behind this decision. While the girl admitted to self-harming activities prior to receiving their services, she alleged that her plight further intensified thereafter, partly due to mood swings and partly due to weight gain. She mentioned an uplift in her mood and energy levels once she stopped taking Aripiprazole.
She later received a diagnosis for obsessive-compulsive disorder and has undergone therapy and mental-emotional retraining. She is currently expecting a referral to a nearby eating disorder clinic.
Expressing his approval of the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey referred to it as a “highly upsetting case”. Addressing the girl and her mother, he expressed his relief that the teen is currently getting the aid she is owed, given that she has “endured an incredible amount”, according to him.
In line with a state compensation scheme addressing the flaws of the south Kerry CAMHS, the High Court has issued several other settlements for minors. Until now, the €200,000 settlement received by the girl stands as the highest awarded under this scheme.