Compensation scheme for families affected by North Kerry CAMHS to be announced

Ellen O'Donoghue

The Government is expected to announce a compensation scheme for families affected by the North Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services on Thursday.

It comes after an independent HSE-commissioned report last month found a risk of potential harm in 209 children’s treatment.

Issues identified in the North Kerry CAMHS service included a high rate of prescribing anti-psychotic medicine, with patients sometimes given two or more at the same time.

The report noted this was a concerning feature and wasn’t in line with standard practice.

Mental Health Minister Mary Butler said that she will relay details of a compensation scheme for affected families today.

It is understood that this will be a non-adversarial route, according to Newstalk.

Butler told the Dáil yesterday that she intends to visit impacted families in North Kerry over the Easter break.