THE grieving grandad of a 10-year-old Dalton-in-Furness boy who hanged himself has welcomed a serious case review that criticised key agencies involved in his care.

Steve Hucknall said he hoped other Cumbrian children with depression would get better care as a result of Harry Hucknall’s tragic death.

Harry had been prescribed mind-altering drugs to control his moods, yet had twice attempted suicide, the review report published by Cumbria Local Safeguarding Children Board revealed.

The schooboy told a psychiatrist he would rather be dead than continue to be picked on at school – yet he was not identified as a high risk patient.

Three weeks after his last meeting with a child psychiatrist, whom he saw after being found with a plastic bag over his head, Harry was found dead in his bedroom.

Mr Hucknall said: “I’m still very upset by everything that has happened. I hope some good does come out of this but that still will not bring back my grandson.”

Review chairman Allan Buckley said lots of lessons had been learned but the main message was to take threats of suicide seriously.

He said ‘great caution’ would be taken before prescribing a child of Harry’s age mind-altering drugs, including Ritalin and Fluoxetine, which he was given to treat attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHA) and depression.

Harry’s case has been referred to the Royal College of Psychiatrists and National Institute for Heath and Clinical Excellence to add to the national debate surrounding prescribing mind-altering drugs to children.

“Late in 2010 tragically this child took his own life at his family home,” said Mr Buckley. “The review doesn’t come to the conclusion that the child’s death could have been prevented if agencies had acted differently.

“But agencies do have to work more closely together, listening and challenging one another. Lessons were identified, and swift action has been taken to ensure that those lessons lead to improved practice.”

Harry was given a risk assessment three weeks before he died but the conclusion was to refer him for therapy.

Issues identified following the review included: l Poor inter-agency communication and failure to share information l Failure to recognise risks l Failure to adhere to agreed policies and procedures l Absence of challenge between agencies in relation to outcomes of assessments or provision of services l The importance of fit for purpose records.

An inquest by coroner Ian Smith last year recorded a narrative verdict at Barrow Town Hall.

Mr Smith said Harry died from his own actions without understanding their true consequences. He said while caring for Harry, Dr Sumitra Srivastava had acted appropriately and raised his own concerns about drugs prescribed to children.

Cumbria Local Safeguarding Children Board will be overseeing progress on recommendations from the review which included: making sure a child is assessed on their own; information about risk indicators for suicide in children is circulated to all agencies with guidance of how to proceed; and for practitioners to check previous records and involvement with a child/ family when a case is opened for assessment.

Progress has already been made with many of the recommendations.