Judge criticises ‘substandard’ HSE care plan for vulnerable woman

The High Court has given the HSE until Friday to devise a better care plan for a vulnerable young woman than a "completely substandard" arrangement where she can leave a care unit and access street drugs.

A proposal to provide the woman with a dedicated key worker for eight hours weekly is not a solution, High Court president Mr Justice Peter Kelly said.

As a ward of court, the court’s duty is to protect the woman and a situation where she can leave her current placement unsupervised and access and misuse street drugs cannot continue, he said. She could “end up dead”, he said.

Maireád McKenna BL, for the HSE, said the existing unit is not a secure unit but there was no evidence a secure unit is appropriate for the woman.. She had appeared to be making progress in the current unit but now seems “agitated”, counsel said.

Now in her early thirties, she had grown up on the streets, is free to visit her father and appeared to be returning to the unit under the influence of drugs.

The situation is “very serious” but the placement is relatively new and the woman has developed a good relationship with a keyworker who is a positive influence on her, she said.

The HSE was proposing to fund the key worker seeing the woman eight hours weekly on a one to one basis. Sarah Fennell, for the general solicitor for wards of court, said the woman has herself identified the difficulties with her taking street drugs, is conscious she is placing herself in a precarious position and had said at one point she needs to be in a locked in unit.

‘Cry for help’

The drug taking is regarded as “a cry for help”, counsel said. The woman does not wish to go home and the unit offers her some comfort and security but the real issue is she can leave as she chooses and the unit is very close to her home area.

A possible option is to move her away from her native area to a more therapeutic setting “to break the cycle” of drug taking, counsel said

Mr Justice Kelly said the court is responsible for ensuring the woman is in a place where there won’t be a danger to her life and the arrangement the HSE has put in place is “completely substandard to her needs”.

It makes sense to move her to a therapeutic setting away from her native city and stop her going to her home area on a daily basis for drugs, he said.

The HSE should have come to court with a proposal other than a keyworker for eight hours weekly which is not a solution, he said. He could not countenance a situation where a ward of court can access and use street drugs and must have a proposal by Friday for her protection, he directed.