Cork Kerry Community Healthcare has confirmed that Dr Colette Halpin is leading a Lookback Review into the care of children and young people at North Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
The first phase of the Lookback Review is reviewing of all files open to North Kerry on the 21 November 2022. We expect that approximately 300 files will be reviewed.
In December 2023, we updated all families of children who’s files are part of the first phase of the Lookback Review. We informed them that we will not meet the initial timeline for the review, and we apologised to them for this delay which we sincerely regret.
The review process is complex and we reassured families that a robust independent review process is in place, and that all cases will get a thorough and consistent assessment of their care and treatment.
This review process requires independent expert specialised CAMHS input, and we now have a team of such experts in place. However, the review process is complex, and we are limited by the availability of the independent CAMHS experts which has delayed progress to date.
We understand that this will cause upset and frustration for families, however, we are ensuring that all cases will get a thorough and consistent assessment of their care and treatment while attending North Kerry CAMHS. We are working with Dr Halpin to set out a timeline for the completion of this phase of the review and we will be in further direct contact with families to advise of same.
As the individual file reviews are being completed, we are making direct contact with the individuals/families concerned to let them know the outcome of the review of their child’s file. In some cases, we have offered families an appointment for an Open Disclosure meeting, to explain what the review team found in their case, and what happens next.
As in previous lookback reviews, if any young person needs further support then we will make sure it is offered and provided as quickly as possible.
We are committed to keeping young people and their families informed about the review, and to answering questions.
Updates:
We will place information and updates on this webpage, hse.ie/northkerrycamhsreview.
Our Kerry CAMHS information line remains open on 1800 742 800, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
An information document about the review which was sent to families is available below:
About North Kerry CAMHS review June 2023 (PDF, size 2.8 MB, 8 pages)
