Vulnerable girl ‘held in hospital room without natural light for almost 60 days’

A disabled teenager with behavioural problems was held in a room off a hospital emergency department for almost 60 days with no access to natural light or fresh air, a report on childcare cases before the courts has found.

The case is one of 54 reports from the Child Law Project (CLP), formerly known as the Child Care Law Reporting Project, that highlighted the “challenge of inter-agency co-operation” in the care of vulnerable children, especially those with disabilities.

While staying in the room, the teenage girl was without a television and access to the internet until shortly before legal proceedings began. She had no physical activity or education during her time in the hospital.

The child’s mother brought judicial review proceedings that this was a denial of the girl’s rights, adding the HSE was required to provide the child with an appropriate residential placement.

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The HSE argued the child was not being damaged by the circumstances in which she was living, and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency (CFA), should have sought to take her into care.

The mother won the case, with the High Court judge stating: “What is required ... is the need for the provision of disability services to a child – and such provision, without a shadow of legal doubt, is the legal responsibility of the HSE.”

He rejected the argument the child should have been taken into care, pointing out there was no failure on the part of the parents, and that bringing the child into care would not advance her cause.

The case was heard in 2021 but the judgment was only published last year following a report from the girl’s guardian ad litem that its publication would not cause any additional harm to the teen.

Dr Maria Corbett, chief executive of the Child Law Project, said the High Court found the child “should not be admitted to care solely on the basis of their disability”.

“This case highlights the need for a culture shift away from departmental and agency silos. Our court reporting shows that a significant proportion of children in care have a disability and/or mental health needs and so the CFA needs to access HSE services for these children,” she said.

Of the 54 court reports published on Monday, 43 were from the District Court and 11 were from the High Court.

The majority (26) of District Court cases attended concern applications for care and supervision orders.

Echoing previous volumes, key themes in these cases include parental mental health, addiction, homelessness and domestic violence.

The absence from the child’s life of one or both parents is a striking feature in many reports, the body said.

In 11 of the 26 reports, the child’s father was either not known to Tusla, not engaging in or not mentioned during the proceedings CLP attended, and in four cases the child had been abandoned by their mother.

In six cases, the parent was in prison or had recently left detention, and in two others the mother had been in care during her own childhood.

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