The immediate emotional effects of abuse and neglect—isolation, fear, and an inability to trust—can translate into lifelong consequences, including low self-esteem, depression and relationship difficulties. Researchers have identified links between child abuse, neglect and the following:

Difficulties during infancy - Depression and withdrawal symptoms were common among children as young as 3 who experienced emotional, physical, or environmental neglect.

Poor mental and emotional health - In one long-term study, as many as 80 percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at age 21. These young adults exhibited many problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide attempts. Other psychological and emotional conditions associated with abuse and neglect include panic disorder, dissociative disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, anger, posttraumatic stress disorder and reactive attachment disorder.

Cognitive difficulties - in children placed in out-of-home care due to abuse or neglect, they tended to score lower than the general population on measures of cognitive capacity, language development and academic achievement. A study also found a relationship between substantiated child maltreatment and poor academic performance and classroom functioning for school-age children.

Social difficulties - Children who experience rejection or neglect are more likely to develop antisocial traits as they grow up. Parental neglect is also associated with borderline personality disorders and violent behaviour.

Not all victims of child abuse and neglect will experience behavioural consequences. However, behavioural problems appear to be more likely among this group, even at a young age. A survey of children agesd 3 to 5 in foster care found these children displayed clinical or borderline levels of behavioural problems at a rate of more than twice that of the general population. Later in life, child abuse and neglect appear to make the following more likely:

Difficulties during adolescence - Studies have found abused and neglected children to be at least 25 percent more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, drug use, and mental health problems. Other studies suggest that abused or neglected children are more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking as they reach adolescence, thereby increasing their chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

Juvenile delinquency and adult criminality - According to a National Institute of Justice study, abused and neglected children were 11 times more likely to be arrested for criminal behaviour as a juvenile, 2.7 times more likely to be arrested for violent and criminal behaviour as an adult, and 3.1 times more likely to be arrested for one of many forms of violent crime.

Alcohol and other drug abuse - Research consistently reflects an increased likelihood that abused and neglected children will smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, or take illicit drugs during their lifetime According to a report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as many as two-thirds of people in drug treatment programs reported being abused as children.

Abusive behaviour - Abusive parents often have experienced abuse during their own childhood. It is estimated approximately one-third of abused and neglected children will eventually victimize their own children.

While child abuse and neglect almost always occur within the family, the impact does not end there. Society as a whole pays a price for child abuse and neglect, in terms of both direct and indirect costs.

Direct costs - Direct costs include those associated with maintaining a child welfare system to investigate and respond to allegations of child abuse and neglect, as well as expenditures by the judicial, law enforcement, health and mental health systems.

Indirect costs - Indirect costs represent the long-term economic consequences of child abuse and neglect. These include costs associated with juvenile and adult criminal activity, mental illness, substance abuse and domestic violence. They can also include loss of productivity due to unemployment and underemployment, the cost of special education services and increased use of the health care system.

Listed above are some condensed reports of the problems associated with child abuse from various studies in the United States. These studies could have been about any country, society or political system. It is something we have seen, known about, or suffered. It is more than a sense and justified when it is said, it is about you.

ALMOST two million swine flu vaccines bought by the Health Service Executive during the pandemic scare were never used.

It has also emerged that scientists behind World Health Organisation advice on stockpiling of pandemic flu drugs had financial ties with companies which stood to profit.   As the swine flu scare intensified, the HSE purchased three million vaccines at a cost of €12.8 million. An additional €26.6m was spent on GP fees; surgical equipment, including syringes and wipes; a national media information campaign; and expenses incurred due to increased hospital admissions.   However, just 1.1 million vaccines were administered.   Of the three million vaccines bought from drug manufacturers, 1.7m were distributed to doctors’ surgeries and HSE clinics. Yet, 600,000 of these are still stockpiled at health centres, where nobody knows what to do with them.   Fine Gael has questioned why more of the population wasn’t vaccinated if there is such a surplus of the drug.   Discussions are ongoing between the HSE and the drug manufacturers, Glaxo Smithkline and Baxter, on what to do with the 1.9m unused vaccines – whether they should send them back or keep them for use again later this year.  Swine flu claimed 24 lives in Ireland since last August, when the first Irish death was confirmed. It is estimated up to 15% of the population were infected during the pandemic.   According to the HSE, up to 25% of the population was vaccinated against swine flu, a figure it says is much higher than in other countries.   "We hope this level of protection will help in mitigating the effects of any possible second wave of infection. If the vaccine is not required later this year, any unused vaccine will be collected by the HSE National Cold Chain Service and returned to the manufacturer.   "This is the same as what happens for the seasonal flu and any other vaccines," said a HSE spokesman.   "Pandemic flu viruses are notoriously unpredictable and can mutate, becoming more virulent and lethal.   "The health services therefore had to take precautions by protecting our population through vaccination and by gearing up our health services to meet any possible surge.   "The number of people now immune to swine flu should help to mitigate the impact of any possible future wave of infection," the spokesman added.   Fine Gael spokesman on health Dr James Reilly questioned why just 1.1m doses of the vaccine were distributed.   "There was an awful lot of money spent on advertising to the whole population if they only then used 1.1m vaccines.   "Why weren’t more people vaccinated?" he said.   Meanwhile, an investigation by the British Medical Journal and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found a trio of scientists who drew up the key World Health Organisation guidelines had previously received payment for other work from Roche, which makes Tamiflu, and Relenza manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.   The British Medical Journal said the scientists had openly declared these interests in other publications, yet WHO made no mention of the links.   The report estimates that the drugs giants banked more than €5 billion as a result of the WHO recommendations.   A report from the Council of Europe has criticised the lack of transparency around the handling of the swine flu pandemic.   The WHO denied anyone connected to the swine flu response is the subject of an undeclared conflict of interest and said it has existing mechanisms in place to prevent such a situation from occurring.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, June 08, 2010

AN AVERAGE of 18 children per year have died over the past 10 years while being supported by or having just finished contact with social services, the HSE has admitted.

These figures have been described as "shocking" by Fine Gael’s spokesman on children, Alan Shatter, who said it was a "scandal" that 84 of these 188 children suffered "unnatural deaths" that went uninvestigated by the HSE.  Ever since an independent inquiry into the deaths of children in care was set up, and then 17-year-old Daniel McAnaspie’s body was found in Co Meath, the HSE has been under pressure to release these figures.   Last night they revealed that 151 young people, from babies up to age 21, who were either having ongoing contact with social services, had just finished contact or had moved into an 18- to 21-year-old aftercare mode, had died since 2000.   This figure is in addition to the announcement last Friday that 37 children had died over the past 10 years while in the "official care of the HSE" or health boards.   Of the 151 deaths, 84 children died from unnatural causes while 67 died from natural causes, including brain tumours, heart disease, sudden infant death and leukaemia.   Furthermore, 124 of the children were active social work cases or recently closed social work cases.   The remaining 27 were young people, aged 18-21, who had left official state care on their 18th birthday.   Over the past 10 years, 200,000 children were referred to child protection services and 20,000 of these were later recorded as having child protection needs.   The HSE has blamed its failure to collate these figure up to now on its "lack of national standard for notifying deaths of children in care or deaths of children known to child protection services".   They say that the Health Information Quality Authority has now put such guidance in place and, as of last March, all such deaths will be fully recorded.   "The HSE takes its responsibilities in relation to child protection very seriously and is committed to continuing to develop the services we provide to children and families as part of our ongoing reform programme. We are also committed to learning from shortcomings that are identified through reviews and reports into our services to improve services for children and families into the future," a spokesman said.   An independent review group, made up of solicitor Geoffrey Shannon and Barnardos director of advocacy Norah Gibbons, will review these 188 cases.   The group was established in March but only got these figures and details last night.   "The HSE is seeking to facilitate them in their work in every way possible. We look forward to the introduction of legislation by the Government which will facilitate the HSE in handing over child care files to the Independent Review Group.   "In the intervening period we will continue to explore every possible avenue open to us in assisting them with their work," he said.   Last night, the HSE argued that the deaths of children were approximately in line with similar OFSTED statistics in Britain and child protection figures in New York, where 68% of such child deaths are due to "unnatural causes".   Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said it was a "tragedy and a disgrace" that 61 of these 151 children had died from unnatural causes. "It potentially points to significant failures on behalf of the system to properly assess the risk to children and take the appropriate action to keep them safe."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, June 05, 2010

IRISH HEALTH SERVICE AND ITS CHILDREN

25 April 2010

For those that are still living under the ‘protection’ of the HSE or the Health Service Executive, they must tread very carefully. Many children kept in one of their residential homes recently were forced to live there with a leaking roof even after it was deemed “totally unsuitable” to live in over a year earlier.

The HSE are also involved in the case of six children who were being abused by both parents over a fifteen year period. The courts found the father guilty of the rape and sexual assault of his son. The HSE were involved in this case for over a decade before they applied for a care order.

In the last ten years there has been a minimum of 23 deaths of children in the care of the Health Service Executive. It could be fifty deaths or more for the very inept man who is the Minister for Children, Barry Andrews, was not sure what figure is accurate. In fact they or him do not know how many children died in their care at all in that time for none were independently investigated. This perhaps goes to explain somewhat how literally several hundreds of children’s deaths were never accounted for that died at the hands of the Religious over previous decades.

Up to 90% of child abuse never comes to the attention of the HSE according to their chief executive, Brendan Drumm and even if it did, they are over worked anyway, he added. This does not encourage the child only the abuser. So where do we go from here? The first question is, ‘where does the buck stop’?

Barry Andrews is probably one of the weakest politicians ever to come into Government. He is constantly quoting other people or policies but rarely shows any independent train of thought. Talking about the Religious, Andrews said: “Naturally we would expect there to be some reflections from Rome on what it means for the delivery of safe practices for children in this country in terms of the Catholic Church and how they are as patrons of our national schools and how they are going to provide us with the reassurance that they have and will comply with best practice in child protection in the future”

I always thought that was supposed to be his responsibility? In fact, this is pretty much how Barry sees his role. It is always someone else that is responsible for his mistakes nevertheless, why do we continue to pay this incompetent Minister?

Accepting that Tracy Fay died under the care of the HSE, and that there was an absence of continuity of care or a care plan, he added: she was let down by the state and is not ‘unique’ in that respect”. At last we agree on something. But in true Andrews and Fianna Fail style, he tries as usual to distance himself yet again. He goes on: “It is important to note these children are teenagers …….” as if this somehow explains it all. In Tracy Fays case, she ‘was’ a teenager.

He believes the Ryan Report implementation plan gives him the road map to right the wrongs of the past. Again, I thought this was his job and not Ryan's.

Recently, a review of the states child protection policy, ‘Children First” was published. It found that in only 13% of child protection cases are the HSE and the Gardai acting in full accordance with those guidelines. This is wrong, very wrong.

In 2007, they were 23,268 reports on child abuse, neglect and child welfare concerns made to the HSE. In 8,194 cases not even an initial assessment were made. This Mr. Andrews is unacceptable.

I know, I know, you and Mary Harney are busy, and, and, …………………

Barry Clifford May 2010

THE OFFICE of the Minister for Children and the Health Service Executive (HSE) have failed to properly implement child safety guidelines over the past decade leaving children at risk of abuse.

This is the key finding of a major report by Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan, who said it was simply impossible to tell if practice on the ground in Ireland is any good due to a lack of external inspection or internal audit of child protection services.

“Some of the problems identified – variable practice, a lack of internal and external scrutiny and a failure of inter-agency collaboration – indicate a need for a fundamental change in culture and attitude towards child protection,” said Ms Logan in a 95-page report on the implementation of the Children First guidelines for the protection and welfare of children.

The guidelines were first introduced by the Government in 1999 to provide guidance to staff working in child protection.

The report identifies critical weaknesses in the child protection system, which should have been addressed through proper implementation of the guidelines.

Half of HSE local health offices do not have proper local procedures to implement guidelines or have only recently drawn them up.

A failure in most parts of the country to provide 24-hour access to the Child Protection Notification System, which provides information on children at risk to health workers and the Garda.

A lack of formal co-operation between the HSE and Garda when a child is deemed at risk.

No external reviews or inspections of childcare services have taken place since 2003.

Just one area in the country Cork/Kerry conducted an internal audit of child protection case files

This audit in the Southern Health Board area, which was completed in 2003/4, uncovered “worrying” findings.

Three-quarters of child protection files had no record of the outcome of an assessment by social workers and initial assessments took 95 days on average, the report says.

The report makes two findings of “unsound administration” on the part of the Office of the Minister for Children. It said it failed to put in place proper mechanisms to implement the guidelines between 2003 and 2008, which has led to a lack of collaboration between different State agencies.

It also criticises the department for failing to disclose an ongoing industrial relations dispute with Impact trade union, which means social workers still do not process administrative aspects of the guidelines due to a lack of staff.

The report makes nine findings of “unsound administration” on the part of the HSE, which it concludes did not make child protection services a priority during a period of fundamental reform.

The HSE acknowledged in a statement last night that many of its childcare services were not being delivered “in a standardised or consistent manner” and so did not comply with the guidelines.

Phil Garland, assistant national director of the HSE’s children and families social services, said ongoing reforms would introduce uniform policies and procedures for social work practice to ensure more consistency across the State.

Minister for Children Barry Andrews welcomed the report, which he said “recognises the advances made since 2008 and the potential of these initiatives to realise effective change” (18 children dying per year).

Recommendations: Child Protection notification system among proposals:

Social work resources should be better matched to reflect different needs across the country

Application of the revised Children First guidelines to churches should be made explicit

HSE strategic review should consider if childcare services are best delivered by the agency

Social Services Inspectorate should examine case files when it recommences inspection of child protection work

A national Child Protection Notification System should be created instead of local systems

Funding should be provided to set up an “out of hours” service for children in need of care

Set up a dedicated child protection service within the Garda

Provide list of all convicted sex offenders in an area to local health offices to assess risk to children

May 2010 report

HOSPITAL WRONGLY TOLD MUM BABY WAS DEAD IN WOMB

By Fiach Kelly

Tuesday June 08 2010

A HOSPITAL wrongly told a pregnant woman her unborn baby was dead and then arranged for her to have an operation to remove the foetus.

The woman, who was supplied with abortion-inducing medicine by the hospital, saved her baby's life after she sought a second opinion from her local GP. The shocking incident at the scandal-plagued Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda was caused by out-of-date and unsuitable equipment and shoddy work practices.

But despite this, some of the faulty equipment identified in a report into the misdiagnosis was still being used six months later, the Irish Independent has learned.

Melissa Redmond, from Donabate in north Dublin, presented herself to the Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) for an internal scan eight weeks into her pregnancy on July 22 last year.

She was anxious to get an early scan as she had previously suffered four miscarriages. After a quick scan lasting only a few minutes, Mrs Redmond was devastated to be told she had miscarried again. She and her husband Michael took the painful decision to have a D&C procedure to have their 'dead' child removed.

The operation was scheduled for just two days later on July 24. Melissa was also given the abortive drug, Cytotec, to take on the morning of the operation.

However, the then-mother of two sensed something was not right and decided to visit her local GP to seek a second opinion. A heartbeat showed up on the external scan, confirming their baby was still alive. Their son, also called Michael, was born on March 6 this year.

Melissa decided to go public with her story to encourage women in similar situations to get a second opinion if they have any doubts. But both she and her husband also want to highlight the shocking hospital blunders and faulty equipment that led to the misdiagnosis.

"If this was my first pregnancy, I wouldn't have known any different. I would have just went with what they said. The only reason I questioned it is because it wasn't my first pregnancy and because I've had miscarriages as well that I knew the feeling.

"I knew to trust my own instincts and my own body," Melissa told the Irish Independent.

"How many girls have gone in there and it could have been their first one and they wouldn't have been any wiser?"

Melissa hopes her experience will encourage other women in similar situations to always seek a second opinion and trust themselves.

However, while angry at the doctor who made the misdiagnosis, the Redmonds said other staff at the hospital, where the child was subsequently born, were exemplary.

An internal hospital report -- seen by the Irish Independent -- uncovered a litany of technical faults and staff failures which almost ended in tragedy.

The report found:

The diagnosis was based on the opinion of one doctor. Best practice suggests that another scanner, preferably an experienced sonographer -- an ultrasonic image specialist -- confirms the diagnosis before it is made.
The scanning machine in the EPU was six years old, "was subjected to a heavy workload" seven days a week and displayed "evidence of fatigue". It was not adequate to "accurately assess early pregnancies and their complications".
The examination couch was not suitable. It did not split fully, which did not allow for optimal scan views.
There were no guidelines in place regarding scanning techniques and viewing scans.
There were no permanent, trained scan staff attached to the EPU, meaning the experience of staff varied every six months, with some getting "on-the-job training".
There were no written guidelines for the investigation and management of early pregnancy problems.
In the report, the hospital made eight recommendations to improve its facilities, key elements of which have not yet been acted on. Other recommendations were only acted upon months after the misdiagnosis.

For example, the old scanner in the unit was only replaced last January -- and was still being used on pregnant women for six months after the incident.

A sonographer will only be put in place next month, a full year after the incident. The sonographer will then only be available for four hours in the morning.

"There are so many other mothers this could have happened to," Michael said.

"Their children could have died -- viable children."

However, a Health Service Executive spokeswoman said it was unlikely that an investigation would be carried out to see if similar incidents had happened with other women at the hospital who were told they had miscarried.

She said the hospital would usually be aware of such "near misses", even though it took the Redmonds to notify the hospital of its mistake. "The review of reported incidents assist in discovering where weaknesses in the process and systems of care/service delivery may exist, identify the lessons to be learnt from these incidents and consequently allow services to put in place remedial actions in order to reduce the risk of future error," an HSE statement said.

However, the Redmonds said an investigation into previous scans and miscarriages would likely be too painful for the women involved.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital has been at the centre of a series of high-profile controversies in recent years.

These include Michael Shine, who was accused of alleged sexual assaults; and disgraced obstetrician Michael Neary, who wrongly removed women's wombs.

Irish Independent

OVERSEAS EXPERT TO HEAD UP CHILDCARE SERVICES

By Dearbhail McDonald and Eilish O'Regan

Thursday June 10 2010

An outside expert is to be recruited to become a new national director for childcare services, Children's Minister Barry Andrews said yesterday.

It is expected the successful candidate will have a track record in sorting out child protection and welfare systems in the UK and will oversee an overhaul of services here.

The impetus for the appointment is coming from Mr Andrews. "We had discussions with the HSE about this," he said. "They are very positive about it. We have various building blocks ready to go in terms of new management.

"I am talking about bringing people in from abroad ... I want them to roll out the additional 200 social workers appropriately, deploy them in the areas where need is greatest. I need somebody with a track record who has done this kind of work in a challenging area where there are clear deficits in this country," he said .

Meanwhile, Laverne McGuinness, HSE director for primary, community and continuing care, will appear before the Dail public accounts committee today to explain why she told a previous hearing that in past 10 years, 20 children had died in the care of the State.

This figure was later revised to 37. An estimated 188 children who were in State care or were known to the child protection service have died since 2000.

Dearbhail McDonald and Eilish O'Regan

Irish Independent

HSE IN NEPOTISM ROW

Children of at least four senior managers have been appointed to clerical grade-three positions on a temporary basis to aid in the administration of the Back to School Scheme.

The HSE confirmed that the roles were filled without advertisement. However; a HSE spokeswoman insisted that no wrong has been done and it is "all above-board".

The individuals involved are:

Orla Healy, daughter of Pat Healy, regional director of operations for HSE South;

Gillian O'Brien, daughter of Barry O'Brien, assistant national director of HR;

Mark O'Donovan, son of John O'Donovan, regional head of procurement;

Richard Laide, son of Michael Laide, senior manager in finance.

440,000 people on the live register were precluded from applying for the posts.

Regarding the non-advertising of the posts, a spokeswoman said there was a need to fill the positions quickly and to run the advert could have taken months.

There you have it; efficient, transparent, accountable, integrity and not blighted by corruption.

Now, about those missing children that died and their whereabouts unknown …………………….

Barry Clifford 13 June 2010

HSE: GETTING THINGS DONE

Eighteen children were killed, died from drugs or by suicide while in state care over the past ten years, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has finally admitted

Since March 2010 the Minister for Children (Barry Andrews) was informed that the number then of child deaths in care was 23 but nine weeks later that figure has grown to 37.

Of these deaths 20 were teenagers and 17 were younger children.

Health Minister Mary Harney and HSE management up to chief executive Professor Brendan Drumm had rejected reports that the true figure of all child deaths in state care was as high as 200 and suggested the number was closer to 23

There are 5,500 children in state care. The official figures cover 1 January 2000 to 30 April 2010. Details on the total number of deaths of children and young adults, who were in state care at some point or were workers, will be released shortly.

Shortly, came and went and by June 4 HSE said at least 188 young people who were in care or in contact with social services had died over the period but acknowledged the number could rise further if social work teams around the country found evidence of further deaths.

Bearing in mind that the ultimate boss of the HSE Mary Harney along with her pet poodle, Barry Andrews, denied in March of any more deaths, this is what she now says: “I think it’s disappointing that it’s taken so long to get the data . . . we should have the information to hand in a much more timely fashion for many, many reasons.”

This woman, Mary Harney and this man, Barry Andrews, have the country’s vulnerable children in their hands. Incredibly, they have the country’s health itself in their hands. Their incompetence is nothing short of criminal. Their political ambitions and desires outweigh the good of the people and their salaries and pensions ensure them to be accountable to no one. Their positions were reached by the scraps of ones party demise and the political parochial politics of the Andrews dynasty. None have showed they earned it and both are as ineffective and worthless as the Seanad. More children will die before they are gone from office and these two are not apprised of the true facts of how many deaths actually occurred.

Barry Clifford 13 June 2010

OVERSEAS EXPERT TO HEAD UP CHILDCARE SERVICESBy Dearbhail McDonald and Eilish O'Regan

OVERSEAS EXPERT TO HEAD UP CHILDCARE SERVICES

By Dearbhail McDonald and Eilish O'Regan