The whistleblower who uncovered the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) scandal in south Kerry has urged families to be more assertive and challenge doctors if they are worried about their child’s treatment.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Ankur Sharma spent months dealing with children who had been mis-prescribed anti-psychotic medication by a junior doctor who failed to carry out proper diagnostic tests.
Speaking to the Indo Daily podcast, he said: “Families need to feel much more able to challenge their clinicians if they feel or if they even have a worry the care they are receiving doesn’t feel right.
“I think most of the families that I spoke to didn’t feel able to challenge the doctor. This I think may be a cultural thing here. But it shouldn’t be like this. Families and young people should speak up and ask questions.”
Dr Sharma discovered the failings in care within days of joining the South Kerry CAMHS team in September 2020.
His work ultimately led to a major review which found 240 children received risky care, with proof of significant harm in 46 cases.
The Maskey review found the failings went far beyond the actions of one junior doctor, also highlighting major failures in supervision and governance.
The shortcomings of the junior doctor were well known within the HSE before Dr Sharma intervened but too little was done about it, the review found.
Speaking to the podcast, Dr Sharma said the scandal showed the urgent need for a national patient...
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