Abuse at Muckamore had ‘terrible’ effects, inquiry hears on opening day

Patients will be “front and centre” of a public inquiry investigating systemic abuse at the North’s regional hospital for adults with severe learning disabilities, the inquiry chairman has pledged.

Delivering his opening statement on Monday to a room packed with relatives of those allegedly assaulted by staff at Muckamore Abbey Hospital in Co Antrim, Tom Kark QC said he was aware that what happened “has been referred to as a scandal. Without predetermining any issue, it is quite obvious that bad practices were allowed to persist at the hospital to the terrible detriment of a number of patients.

“Those patients themselves were all without exception highly vulnerable in different ways and so it is understandable that there is considerable public anger at some of what has already been revealed.”

The experienced English QC appealed, however, for “cool and calm” reflection, insisting the hearing must be a “safe space” to ensure people come forward to give evidence.

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Families who led a four-year campaign for the inquiry stood outside the building prior to the hearing holding framed photographs of their loved ones, many of whom are non-verbal and unable to communicate what took place.

The inquiry was ordered in 2020 by Stormont Minister of Health Robin Swann. It will examine “events” at the hospital over a 20-year period in what has been described as the biggest adult safeguarding investigation of its kind in the UK.

Mr Kark confirmed they will begin with evidence from relatives, adding: “Not only do we want to put the patients at Muckamore front and centre of this inquiry, we want to put their experience first.”

A police investigation is running in tandem with the inquiry — 1,500 suspected crimes were discovered in one ward alone between April and September 2017 after detectives viewed CCTV footage. Staff did not realise the cameras were recording.

During Monday afternoon’s evidence session, a statement was read from a mother who died earlier this year but was “intent” on giving evidence to the public hearing.

Margaret Lyons died in February and wanted to put her thoughts into writing about her late son Richard “to leave a lasting record” for him, senior counsel to the inquiry Sean Doran said.

Richard was admitted to Muckamore in 1992 when he was 17. He remained at the hospital until 2018 and died on his 46th birthday in February 2021.

Very ill

Mr Kark visited Mrs Lyons in her home and spoke to her before her death.

“I know that you were touched by her determination to assist the inquiry, even at a time that she herself was very ill,” Mr Doran said.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Kark compared the scale of the Muckamore investigation to the 2010 Mid-Staff inquiry, one of the worst care disasters in NHS history in which failings at Stafford Hospital in England led to hundreds of avoidable patient deaths amid a “cover-up” culture.

Mr Kark acted as senior counsel to Mid-Staff and stressed how “entirely independent of government” he was in his role as Muckamore chairman, having “no connection to Northern Ireland”.

“I have to keep an open mind before I hear the evidence … but in terms of size I suspect this may be as big an issue as Mid-Staff,” he said.

“There are significant differences because of course the patients at Mid-Staff were inevitably vulnerable as all patients are; but I think it’s the particular vulnerability of patients at Muckamore. They suffered from some form of learning disability or mental illness and very often they’re non-verbal so they can’t express what’s happened to them. I think that puts it into a slightly unique position as a hospital and it makes this inquiry particular important.”

He added: “We have to be careful as I’ve no doubt that some of the nurses tried their absolute best. I don’t want to condemn the whole body of nurses. But the fact that people felt they could behave badly — as appears to have happened — and get away with it potentially points to a cultural issue which is very troubling in any health service.”