The HSE has said it’s not possible to provide a date for when the long-awaited report on the North Kerry CAMHS review will be published.
The review was commissioned two years ago, and all case files had been assessed as far back as May.
Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly has criticised the delay in publishing the report.
The update came from the HSE, in response to a query from Radio Kerry.
In 2022, the Maskey report uncovered that significant harm was done to 46 children in the care of South Kerry CAMHS, and a further 240 patients were put at risk of harm by their treatment.
The HSE then undertook an audit of random open cases in North Kerry CAMHS, which raised concern.
The North Kerry CAMHS lookback review was commissioned in 2023, led by Dr Colette Halpin.
The review was expected to be completed in March 2024 but it was only in May of this year that the HSE confirmed all files had been assessed.
Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler, said in August that she expected to have the final report published by the end of the month, but this has not yet happened.
The HSE now says it is not possible to provide a publication date for the report at present, but it’s determined to have a final report that’s comprehensive and informed.
The HSE says it’s critical to ensure the final report provides the considered recommendations of Dr Halpin and her expert team, and not just the clinical details of each individual case.
The executive says it regrets this review process has taken longer than initially hoped, and it apologised again to the young people involved in their families.
The HSE says all the young people affected and their families have already been told what the review team found in their cases at individual open disclosure meetings.
Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly says the delay is preventing children from accessing a compensation scheme, and he said they have waited far too long already.
He said he cannot imagine the pain and anguish that these additional delays are causing to children and their families, and called on Kerry’s government TDs to ensure the review is published without delay.
