Dianne Willmore, who passed from mesothelioma in 2009, won a landmark £240,000 case, holding Knowsley Borough Council liable for her asbestos exposure during school. Her case prompted legal and financial ramifications for local authorities nationwide, leading to increased awareness and changes in asbestos-related negligence proceedings.
Shane Flynn, 35, owner of a Mullingar clinic, was convicted of sexual assault after inappropriately touching a client seeking back pain relief. The investigation also revealed 18 hours of footage showing Flynn secretly filming 35 women during massages, raising further concerns about his conduct and abuse of trust within his practice.
Naveed Rana, a Dublin taxi driver, was sentenced to five and a half years for the assault of an 18-year-old woman after a night out. The court heard how Rana took advantage of the victim’s trust, driving erratically and assaulting her before being apprehended due to her quick actions in reporting the incident to Gardaí.
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Numerous families have contacted Coleman Legal LLP throughout the country whose children have been diagnosed with Autism and mental health illnesses. Yet, they are not receiving appropriate care from the HSE. In some cases, children have been placed in inappropriate settings for over 12 months. Despite efforts made by local TDs and in-house hospital psychiatrists, CAMHS refuses to offer places/beds in their inpatient psychiatric wards. This is highly distressing for families and also for hospital staff who are not trained to treat the complex medical needs of the patient. For a confidential consultation, please contact us at Free Phone 1800-844-104 or email [email protected]. You can also visit us at our 84 Talbot Street, Dublin 1, Ireland office.
Autism is categorised as an intellectual and developmental disability and not a mental illness. However, it is rarely the case that a child with autism doesn’t present with related mental health illnesses such as depression, anxiety or ADHD. Since Autism is regarded as an intellectual disability, the healthcare system often fails to provide the necessary care for children with an autism diagnosis who also have significant mental health or behavioural challenges. This exclusion creates a gap in care where children are not admitted to appropriate psychiatric wards. An example of this would be a child with an autism diagnosis and other mental illnesses being refused access to an appropriate psychiatric ward and ultimately being placed in a children’s nephrology ward without access to appropriate psychological intervention.
This systemic failure has devastating consequences for children in need of mental health interventions, who too often find themselves being placed in unsuitable medical environments for extended periods due to the lack of appropriate care and a rigid, outdated system.
Instead of receiving specialised treatment in appropriate settings, children with autism and significant mental health needs are often placed in medical wards designed for unrelated conditions. These settings lack the environmental support required to address their unique difficulties, potentially exposing them to further deterioration in their condition.
The 2024 Family Perspectives Report [1] highlights the systemic barriers faced by children with autism in accessing adequate mental health services. The report highlights how psychiatric units often refuse to admit children with autism, even when co-occurring psychiatric conditions such as depression, ADHD, or anxiety are present.
Parents frequently report being caught between mental health and disability services, with no clear pathway to access suitable care for their children. The lack of cohesion between these services creates a bureaucratic labyrinth, leaving families overwhelmed and unsupported. Moreover, the report critiques the “postcode lottery” of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), where inconsistent service provision leads to significant disparities in care based on the service area of the child.
The report also found that very little by way of governance and accountability contributes to prolonged delays in care. These delays have severe consequences, as children and their families are left to cope with worsening conditions and insufficient interventions.
The Mental Health Commission’s 2023 Review of CAMHS [2] confirms these findings, emphasising a lack of governance and accountability in service delivery. It calls for urgent reforms to address the systemic failures that leave children with autism and co-occurring conditions without the comprehensive, multidisciplinary care they need.
The exclusion of children with autism from psychiatric care has profound consequences:
The systemic failure to adequately care for children with autism and co-occurring mental health challenges highlights the urgent need for reform. Addressing this issue requires:
The healthcare system must move beyond rigid categorisations and adopt an inclusive approach to care. Children with autism and significant mental health needs deserve environments where their full range of challenges are understood and addressed. Without systemic reform, these children will continue to fall through the cracks, enduring inappropriate placements and insufficient care.
At Coleman Legal LLP, our experienced team is committed to advocating for families affected by these systemic failures. We are available to discuss cases involving medical misdiagnosis, inadequate care or failures in service provision. Contact us to learn how we can help.
At Coleman Legal LLP, we have a team of highly qualified solicitors and legal executives with extensive experience in medical misdiagnosis, medication mismanagement, and care deficits. We are available to speak to the parents of the affected children and patients who are now 18 years of age or older and may have been impacted by this HSE employee’s misdiagnosis.
Solicitors
84 Talbot Street, Dublin 1
D01 YX60
DX 112002
Free Phone: 1800-844-104
Fax: (01) 5312727
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.colemanlegalpartners.ie
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No solicitor/client relationship or duty of care or liability of any nature shall exist or be deemed to exist between Coleman Legal LLP and you until you have received a written letter of engagement from us in which we confirm our appointment as your Solicitors.
