Watchdog criticises Western Trust after child 'unnecessarily restrained' at special needs school

Harry Shakespeare was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old and is non-verbal. When he started school, his parents noticed a change in his behaviour.

Eventually, Deirdre and Rodney Shakespeare found out their son was being restrained in a chair without them knowing.

Now, a report by the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman has said Harry was "restrained unnecessarily", criticising the Western Trust for failing to properly monitor a school’s use of specialist seating.

Deirdre, Harry's Mum, said: "His personality had changed and he started to have panic attacks and night terrors at home so he would scream and cry.

Rodney, Harry's Dad, said: "You felt useless as a father because you weren't there to be able to protect him, but he needed protected."

Following a complaint about Harry's treatment, the Public Services Ombudsman said he was being restrained "unnecessarily".

The Ombudsman criticised the Western Trust for failing to properly monitor a school's use of specialist seating.

The investigation also found the trust did not fully assess Harry's needs before approving the chairs, nor ask his parents for consent on their use.

"Finally, after all these years, Harry is believed. This report is his voice, and it has always been about him", said Deirdre.

Harry can walk unaided and used a special chair at meal times.

The report said when the school claimed it was having difficulty moving him to the dining room and asked the trust to add a wheeled base to the chair, the ombudsman concluded that in improving and fitting the base to the chair, the trust did not fully consider the child's human rights.

Deputy Ombudsman Sean Martin said: "There is a need for clear guidelines for both health and education to ensure that restraint is only used when it's absolutely necessary.

"So I think it is really important that that our public services are aware of the impact of their actions."

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Western Trust said: “The trust will be contacting the service user and their family to offer a sincere apology.

“We have accepted the findings and learning within the ombudsman’s report and an action plan has been developed to take the recommendations and learning forward.”

Harry is now 13 and his mum told UTV he is a "happy" and "beautiful" child.

"We have had to rebuild Harry. We have had to sort of undo all the damage that was done.

"He's very placid, he's loving, and it's just great to have closure now and everything, and that's the main thing for us, but I don't think an apology can really do a lot."

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