SOME 230 families whose children were harmed or put at risk during care at mental health facilities in South Kerry have applied for compensation, the Cabinet will be informed today.
Mental Health Minister Mary Butler will today bring forward an update on the shocking scandal in the HSE run South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) unit between 2016 and 2021.
A review of the care of 1,300 children found there was evidence that some children had suffered significant harm at the facility.
Some 240 children received substandard care while 46 others suffered significant harm due to the prescribing practices by one junior doctor.
The Maskey Report revealed some children suffered significant weight gain, sedation, elevated blood pressure and even produced breast milk as a result of their treatment.
The Cabinet will today be told that 230 applications have been made to a compensation scheme set up for the families impacted.
So far, 83 applications have gone through mediation with 74 concluding with a settlement while the remainder are awaiting decisions.
A separate “look back review” into CAHMS in North Kerry is still underway and is being finalised for submission to the Department of Health.
Separately, recently revealed new data showed that Irish hospitals treated 50,000 people for self-harm injuries in the past four years.
The National Self-Harm Registry Ireland released the figures in response to a Dail question from the Laois/Offaly Independent TD Carol Nolan.
Operated by the National Suicide Research Foundation, it records and reports information about visits to emergency departments.
It found that in 2020, a total of 12,553 went to hospital with wounds caused by self-harming, while the following year, the figure was 12,661.
‘MORE TO BE DONE’
In 2022, 12,705 were admitted, and in 2023 it rose to 12,792 in 2023.
Junior Health Minister Butler said: “Broadly speaking, self-harm rates are stable year-on-year and there has been a decline in recent years.
“Recently published data from the National Suicide Research Foundation Self-Harm Registry highlights that between 2010 and 2023 self-harm rates decreased by 12 per cent.
“While there is much more to be done, it is reassuring that the rate did not increase across 2022 and 2023 and we now know that self-harm rates did not increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The peak self-harm rate recorded for adolescent girls aged 15-19 years in 2021 has decreased in 2022 and 2023, which is positive.
WORRYING TREND
“However, self-harm rates in younger female adolescents are continuing to rise, highlighting the need to prioritise mental health supports and targeted interventions for young people and their parents.”
The latest figures reveal that, 504 people died from suicide in Ireland in 2020, another 512 in 2021 and 436 in 2022.
Eight out of the ten suicides recorded are men.
And it’s one of the highest rates in Europe.
Mary Butler will bring an update on the scandal today[/caption]
