THE HEALTH Service Executive has told the family of a child who died in the care system that it will only publish the recommendations of a report into its controversial handling of the case.
David Foley (17) died of a drugs overdose in 2005, three years after being admitted into the care system. He had voluntarily sought care at the age of 14 and ended up being admitted into a series of emergency hostels for homeless teens in Dublin’s city centre.
Professionals familiar with his case say he should have received more suitable forms of care, such as family support, which could have allowed him to live at home or in his community.
In a letter to the family on Friday, the HSE says it will publish the recommendations of the report on its website, as well as a statement explaining the terms of reference of the review. It does not say that the report, or any extracts, will be published. A HSE spokeswoman said yesterday that an official decision on what would be published was due later today.
However, Minister for Children Barry Andrews has pledged on a number of occasions over the past year that the report itself – or as much of it as is legally possible – will be published.
He has said that it was “unacceptable” that it has taken almost four years for the report to be finalised and that it was clear that the teenager was failed by the system.
Mr Foley’s sister Lynda said at the weekend that the move to publish just the recommendations was an “insult” and would not address the failures in the care system.
“We have the right to see the report. So many children have died in the care system and we need to learn these lessons.
“It seems they have something to hide. If they didn’t, they would put all the details out into the open. I presume they know they’ll get criticism if the findings are made public. There is not accountability. Everyone seems to be hiding away from the truth.”
The recommendations – seen by The Irish Times– do not provide details of the HSE's handling of the case. They state that the "draft national guidelines for care planning and statutory child-in-care reviews be signed off and circulated for adoption with a review date."
In relation to the crisis intervention service – the series of hostels in which Mr Foley was resident – the recommendations say the implications of having all emergency placements in the city centre and a lack of foster care or supported lodgings should be considered.
Alan Shatter, Fine Gael spokesman on children, has said it is vital that the reports are published in order to ensure lessons are learned over the failures of the system and to ensure greater accountability.
The HSE is also due to publish the recommendations of a report into the death of another teenager, Tracey Fay (18), who died almost eight years ago.
Ms Fay spent four years in the care of her local health authority.
The report is understood to say the care response provided to her was “chaotic”. She ended up staying in 20 BBs, hospital beds, a bench in an AE ward and two dedicated services over a four-year period.
It is not clear how much of this report is due to be published this week, or if it will extend to the recommendations only.
