The president of the High Court has urged that an adult psychiatric assessment be carried out this week on a very vulnerable young woman who was allegedly subjected to “devastating” sexual abuse at home by more than 12 individuals before being taken into care at the age of 10.
The woman, who was made a ward of court last December, is now 18 and Mr Justice Peter Kelly said it has been clear for a long time that she needs adult psychiatric assessment.
“I don’t want to have a dead body on my hands at the end of the week,” he added.
An assessment scheduled for late next month is too late given serious issues including a recent incident where the young woman left her care unit. She was later taken to hospital by a garda after telling him she had engaged in self-harm and expressed suicidal thoughts, he said.
Mr Justice Kelly was very concerned that the woman was discharged from that hospital’s accident and emergency department without having had a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation.
Adamant
She was seen by a psychiatric liaison nurse in A&E but was discharged, accompanied by staff from her care unit, because she was adamant she would not stay in hospital. However, the judge noted the woman had been made a ward of court last December because she lacks capacity.
He was also concerned the general solicitor for wards of court and the court were not informed “forthwith” of the hospital incident.
Having been told the HSE is trying to bring the psychiatric appointment forward to this week, he directed its solicitor to inform him on Tuesday whether a psychiatric assessment will be carried out this week. If not, he said he would order the HSE to arrange same this week.
He also directed that the prosecuting authorities be informed the young woman’s mother had, in breach of bail conditions, made phone contact with her trying to convince the woman that her grandfather was innocent of abusing her. The mother and grandfather are both facing criminal proceedings arising from allegations made by the woman.
Earlier, Sara Moorhead SC, for the general solicitor, Patricia Hickey, told the judge the hospital attendance, another incident and the mother’s contact are “very worrying” developments.
Prised
While Ms Hickey and the young woman’s court appointed guardian agree the current care unit is not suited to her needs, they were concerned, due to her level of upset and disruption, that she should not be prised out of there without an adult psychiatric evaluation and input into the future care plan and placement.
The staff in her current unit are very good and kind to her but lack the skills to address her complex needs, she said. That included lacking insight to ensure the woman was not discharged from hospital after the recent incident.
A solicitor for the HSE said it was taking over her care from Tusla, funding for placements is not an issue and efforts will be made to bring forward the adult psychiatric assessment to this week.
Previously, the court heard the guardian, who has been involved with the young woman since she was taken into care aged 10, has raised serious concerns about why she and her siblings were not taken into care earlier as social work services were familiar with the family before the girl was born.
After she was taken into care, the girl named more than 12 individuals in her local area whom she alleged had come to her home and abused her in her bedroom before she was taken into care. A younger brother also made disclosures of sexual abuse of him by family members.
The guardian has expressed the view, had the relevant authorities acted earlier on the concerns about the family, “much, if not all, of the abuse, neglect and trauma the girl has suffered could have been avoided”.
The father left the home when the girl was aged four and, while family supports continued to be provided, concerns about the ability of the mother, who had certain difficulties of her own, to manage and safely parent the children continued and increased, she said.
