The HSE won't comment on claims that it hasn't responded to an offer of work made by the consultant psychiatrist who exposed the harmful treatment of young mental health patients.
Sinn Féin councillor Deirdre Ferris says Dr Ankur Sharma, who'd worked at South Kerry CAMHS, has offered to return to the county's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
She says the whistleblower has offered to work on a locum basis until the full-time role of a consultant psychiatrist is filled.
She says the HSE hasn't responded to his offer, even though, she claims there's no such consultants actively working in Kerry CAMHS.
Cllr Deirdre Ferris brought a motion before Kerry County Council, calling for the department and Minister of Health to be petitioned to prioritise Kerry for the recruitment of psychiatrist consultants for CAMHS.
The councillor says that children attending CAMHS who are prescribed medication are supposed to be monitored, but claims appointments that were cancelled in January have yet to be rescheduled.
She says this isn’t acceptable given what happened in South Kerry CAMHS when children were over-prescribed medication.
A consultant from Galway did facilitate appointments here for children in crisis.
Cllr Ferris says Dr Ankur Sharma hasn’t received a reply from the HSE, following his offer to return on a locum basis until the full-time position has been filled.
The HSE says it can’t comment on specific details of any individual’s employment or their HR details, but it is committed to the implementation of the recommendations of the Maskey report.
That report found significant harm was caused to 46 children and a further 227 attending South Kerry CAMHS were put at risk of serious harm as a result of misdiagnoses and inappropriate prescriptions by one doctor.
