Western Trust criticised for systematic failures in new report

THE social care system in the North has been condemned for ‘paying scant attention’ to the protection and rights of a local woman who has spent the majority of her life in care.

The story of ‘Vicky’ (not her real name) came to light following a damning new report by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY), Koulla Yiassouma. The report, ‘Looked After? A Formal Investigation into the Life of a Child in the care of the State’ found that there were persistent failings perpetrated upon Vicky by her ‘legal parent’ the Western Health and Social Care Trust

Although her identity is protected, Vicky is said to hail from the Derry City and Strabane District Council area.

The report relates how she was placed into foster care aged ten months due to her parents’ physical and mental health issues. Subsequent foster care provided her with some stability, despite her own learning difficulties and crippling anxiety, which resulted in arrests, breaches of bail and the use of restraints.

At 15-years-old, her story was to take an even more tragic turn, as she was admitted to residential care, a facility which ultimately couldn’t deal with Vicky’s complex issues. She was then placed in a Juvenile Justice Centre, where she remained until just after her 17th birthday in 2018, before being relocated to a secure mental health facility in England, hundreds of miles away from her foster family and friends, where she remains to this day.

peaking on behalf of Vicky’s foster family, Cllr Raymond Barr confirmed that that young woman wants to return home.

“This report, which makes for distressing reading, illustrates the lack of co-ordination between the agencies and the lack of challenge from the corporate parent responsible for Vicky’s care, that parent being the Western Trust,” he explained.

“The evidence of the numerous failings in the report are irrefutable and illustrate, if it needs illustrating, that there is a complete lack of facilities and treatment available for children and adults with mental health and learning difficulties in the North. The families of those in need of assistance also suffer greatly due to this deficit in care.

“Vicky wants to return home but at this minute in time, there are no plans in place to facilitate that, so her rights are still being breached. It is essential that we do not forget about her and that this must not be allowed to happen again. Vicky’s case is a watershed moment in fighting for mental health provision for children and adults in this area and I applaud NICCY for their in-depth investigation and Vicky’s ‘mum’ for her dedicated advocacy in fighting for Vicky and regular trips to England to see her.”

The NICCY report took several agencies to task with a raft of harsh criticism, not least aimed the Western Trust. Also under fire in the report are the Education Authority, Youth Justice Agency and the North’s Justice and Health departments. A total of 45 recommendations are made from the report, only three of which pertain to Vicky herself and these are now expected to be implemented as part of the on-going independent review into children’s care across the North.

Speaking after delivering the report, Ms Yiassouma had a clear message – ‘there must be no more Vickys’.

She said, “Like me you may, at times, be left speechless as to how, from the start of her life, the needs of this child became one dimensional ie focused on accommodation, and continue to be so to this day…

“This investigation outlines the systemic failure of the children’s social care system in Northern Ireland which, in this case, valued processes over substance; a system which endeavoured to tick boxes in the most perfunctory way without seeking to understand the impact of its actions or inactions on the child.”

She continued, “I am deeply ashamed of what the children’s social care system became during the care of Vicky. To Vicky – I am very sorry that you have been let down so badly by the services who had a responsibility to look after you and meet your needs properly.”