Children prescribed anti psychotic drug while in CAMHS care settle actions
In one of the cases, the then almost 10-year-old boy gained 3.5kg in weight in the six months he was on the drug, Risperidone, which the High Court heard was not appropriate and should not have been prescribed.
Advertisement
They had sued the HSE over the care they received at South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). None of the children can be identified by order of the court. The settlements were reached after mediation.
Robert Fitzpatrick SC with Siun Leonowicz BL told the court that the first boy had been referred to the CAMHS service when he was under ten years of age, and he was prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Risperidone.
Counsel said the drug should never have been prescribed, and it was dispensed for another five months in 2019. The young boy, he said, suffered side effects including weight gain, and he had gained 3.5 kg in weight over a 23-week period.
At one stage, counsel said the boy was prescribed an appetite suppressant medication, which counsel said was also inappropriate. Mr Fitzpatrick said the appetite suppressant medication appeared to be given in a misplaced effort to counteract the Risperidone, which should not have been prescribed. Counsel described it as a 'case of double error.'
Advertisement
Approving a €65,000 settlement in the teenager's case, Mr Justice Paul Coffey said it was fair and reasonable, and he wished the boy the best for the future.
In the second case, a 16-year-old boy settled his action for €75,000. Counsel said the boy, when he was nine years old, had been put on Risperidone and was taking it for five months in 2018. Counsel said the anti-psychotic was never appropriate for the child.
Counsel said the boy had been put on an ADHD medication, which he had taken before and from which he previously suffered side effects.
By putting the boy on the ADHD drug again, counsel said he had been needlessly put through side effects. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Paul Coffey conveyed his best wishes to the teenager.
Advertisement
In another case, a 16-year-old boy was awarded €17,500 in relation to his care at South Kerry CAMHS.
Counsel told the court that the boy, when he was six years old, had been assessed by the service, diagnosed with ADHD and started on medication.
Counsel said his case related to a 23-month gap in later follow-up.
At one stage, counsel said the boy was prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Risperidone, but thanks 'to the good sense of his father, he never gave him the medication.'
His case solely related to lost follow-up.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Daily Mail
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Do You Have ADHD?: 'Do you fidget and get distracted by noise? Maybe you've got ADHD too'
Nobody wants to be schizophrenic these days. Why would they? It's a horrible mental illness, one commonly treated with anti-psychotic drugs. Believe it or not, it was frightfully fashionable in the 1960s. Dinner party guests clamoured to tell each other, 'Well, I don't know, I suppose I must be a little bit schizo!' Quack psychiatrists made their names diagnosing actors and pop stars with the condition. The leading light was Scottish doctor and bestselling writer R.D. Laing, who treated Sean Connery by dosing him with LSD. These days, the most talked about diagnosis is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD]. Not a day passes without a celebrity or online influencer declaring proudly that they have ADHD — with the unspoken implication that this excuses all their failings and confirms what they've always felt... that they are special. Follow the guidelines laid down in Do You Have ADHD?, and we can all be special. It's easy. Before the first ad break, presenter Dr Karan Rajan urged us to download a questionnaire from the World Health Organisation [WHO], designed to identify key traits. The questions have been set by three American professors at Harvard and the New York University medical schools, and given an impressive title: the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) Symptom Checklist. Naturally, I paused the show and filled in the quiz immediately. This, I feel, proves impressively how limited my own attention span is. Do I fidget, asked the WHO? Do I forget appointments? Do I make careless mistakes when engaged on boring tasks? Do I get distracted by noise around me? Yes, all of the above. Now I can apply to join the eight-year NHS waiting list for an ADHD diagnosis, or take a shortcut and go private. Of course I'll go private! If I had the patience to wait eight years, I wouldn't have ADHD, would I? And, fortunately, there are lots of clinics willing to take my money, in exchange for an assessment. Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, the widow of much-loved Daily Mail writer Michael Mosley, took the test, partly because she suspected her late husband had ADHD himself. In her case, the outcome seemed eminently sensible: she exhibited some of the typical traits but could not be said to have ADHD because her daily life wasn't impaired. Clearly, the same applied to Michael. No doubt, he had a butterfly mind and needed a deadline if he was to get a job finished, but that's what made him a successful journalist. The rest of this documentary was mostly shallow and trivial. Asked what indicators he looks for in children with ADHD, Professor Stephen Scott of King's College London said, 'First of all, if you just watch them in the school playground, are they running around more than other kids?' 'Running around' is now a childhood medical condition. Nurse!
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Do you have ADHD? A Channel 4 documentary myth busts the signs and symptoms
With thousands being diagnosed with ADHD, and many more on the waiting list, a fascinating documentary airing tonight aims to separate fact from fiction Everybody loses their keys sometimes, everyone can forget things, everyone occasionally fidgets, but does this mean you have ADHD? An eye-opening documentary airing on Channel 4 tonight, Do You Have ADHD?, aims to help viewers work out if they should get a diagnosis. It seems that everyone is talking about ADHD these days - celebrities from Rob Beckett to Johnny Vegas are opening up about having it and over 200,000 Brits are on a waiting list for a diagnosis. An estimated 2.6 million people in the UK have it, and no doubt many more who just haven't been diagnosed. Do You Have ADHD? aims to look at the symptoms, including inattentiveness, hyperactivity, impulsivity and time blindness, telling viewers what to do if they think they or their child has it. The show is fronted by Dr Karan Rajan and Dr Clare Bailey Mosley (wife of the late Michael Mosley), who even puts herself through a gruelling four-hour ADHD assessment because she has noticed she has some traits. The medical experts also explore the complexities of having ADHD, separate fact from fiction on ADHD traits, and give creative advice for living with an ADHD brain. First the documentary asks, what does it feel like to have ADHD? Alex says: 'It is like having a Ferrari engine, but bicycle brakes.' Milly says: 'It feels like there's always a swarm of bees in my brain that are always fighting each other for my attention.' Cole: 'It's like 20 televisions on at once and you can't really tell what channel is on or what anyone is saying.' Health educator Dr Karan says: 'I'm fascinated by the huge explosion of interest surrounding the condition. Everyone is talking about it. It's a hugely complex topic with a huge variety of symptoms, making diagnosis a minefield.' He investigates the challenges faced by thousands of children and adults looking into a formal diagnosis, talking to experts in neurodiversity. The programme advises on what to do if you're looking for answers, starting with a symptom checklist that you can download online. Questions include: 'How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project?', 'How often to you have problems remembering appointments and obligations?' and 'How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or feet when you have to sit down for a long time?' If you check more than four in the grey boxes, you or your child may be eligible for an assessment and should ask your GP. Meanwhile, former GP Dr Clare turns patient as she undergoes the assessment process to establish whether undiagnosed ADHD could be the cause of some of her own behaviour challenges. She says: 'I would say I'm energetic. I think I just do fidget. "I don't relax. I think I just like to be active. 'Certainly Michael was aware of my poor time keeping. I just think I have been living with it and comfortably but with the odd blip.' However, after a four-hour deep dive, it becomes clear that without these traits impairing Clare's life, she would not warrant a diagnosis or need treatment. She says: 'It's interesting hearing all these impairments, but I don't feel particularly impaired by them, so it turns out that I don't fit the criteria. It was a long process but really interesting.' *Do You Have ADHD? airs tonight (August 5) on Channel 4 at 8pm
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
DR MAX PEMBERTON: This is the REAL reason why there's been an explosion in cases of ADHD - and why we should all be scared of the consequences
As a doctor I'm often asked for my view on the soaring number of people seeking treatment for ADHD. Figures have trebled in the past decade and waiting lists for NHS assessments are so long it will take eight years to clear the backlog. To be blunt, yes, I do believe ADHD is being wildly overdiagnosed. I also worry that the surge in cases is starting to have a damaging impact on the day-to-day lives of everyone.
