The father of a teenager who suffered serious harm under the care of South Kerry CAMHS, is afraid his son will fall through the cracks of the mental health services as he gets older.
Maurice O’Connell’s son, who will turn 16 next month, was one of 46 children found to have suffered significant harm as a result of being treated at South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services between 2016 and 2020.
Mr O’Connell, who’s from Cahersiveen, says the CAMHS model needs to be dismantled and started over.
He says his son was offered treatment via Zoom calls to a psychiatrist in Dubai, who also flies in to Ireland once a month to treat patients.
Mr O’Connell says it’s impossible to diagnose autism over Zoom, and he’s concerned about the future for his son’s care.
