Nature and extent of Muckamore abuse at heart of inquiry

The nature and extent of abuse of young men and women, who were in a place they considered home and where they should have felt safe, has been central to the hearings at the Muckamore Abbey Hospital public inquiry.

After almost three years of harrowing and traumatising evidence the inquiry has finished.

Its final report and recommendations will be published later this year.

It was poignant that Sean Doran KC began his summing up by reminding the inquiry that the examination of CCTV footage prompted a major safeguarding investigation into the conduct of staff which led to criminal proceedings and prosecutions.

While reaching this stage is considered by some "momentous" others have said they feel "deflated" as it's not the "inquiry they fought for."

Speaking to BBC News NI, Glynn Brown, whose son Aaron was a patient at the County Antrim hospital, said individuals have not been fully investigated and at times it felt significant figures had been "brought in to have a chat with granny rather than be rigorously cross examined".

In 2018, BBC News NI reported CCTV footage captured a patient being punched in the stomach and swung around by the arm by members of staff, then parents said, "heads should roll."

After Monday, the inquiry will pause, possibly until the end of the year when the Chair, Tom Kark KC is expected to return with his final report and recommendations.

In 2017 abuse at the hospital was discovered when CCTV footage was shown to Mr Brown when he thought his son Aaron had been assaulted.

His actions, followed by others, triggered a public inquiry which uncovered abuse of vulnerable adults with severe learning disabilities, some of whom spent time in a seclusion room likened to a dungeon.

A police investigation is running alongside the inquiry and 15 staff members have been charged.

CCTV footage has been key to this inquiry and last week the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) backed calls from families for mandatory CCTV to be in place in settings where vulnerable people are cared for.

There have been multiple apologies including from the Department of Health, The Belfast Health Trust who manage the hospital, the Chief Medical and Nursing Officers, however, according to some of the families' others were defensive in their testimonies including the Regulator the RQIA.

Public inquires open with much expectation that their aim is to answer what happened, why did it happen and what can be done to prevent it happening again?

Muckamore was no different, with many hurdles along the way.

It has been a mammoth exercise with 181 witnesses providing oral evidence to the Inquiry and 45 further patient and staff statements also read.

Dawn Jones provided evidence about her son Timmy's abuse.

She said there had been hundreds of safeguarding incidents, including issues around his medication and cleanliness.

She told BBC News NI that the inquiry was worth it even though recalling events and writing them down in a statement was "traumatising and harrowing".

She said among her low points over the past three years was hearing accounts from health professionals that she knows were "inaccurate" and went unchallenged.

"The Belfast Trust apologised but all they talked about was the process with little reference about changing safeguarding practice," Ms Jones said.

"Victims, like my son, are forgotten amongst all the justifications and excuses."

She said the inquiry's start was a high point, but its success will be judged on the final report, its recommendations and if people are held to account.

Agnes Lunny, the Chief Executive of Positive Futures, which works with and for people with learning disabilities, also said the success of the inquiry will depend on what the recommendations state, whether they are fully accepted by the Department of Health and promptly implemented.

She said the fact that no-one has been held to account for serious wrong doing is hugely significant.

"There needs to be an independent facilitator or tsar appointed to implement the recommendations and hold people to account if they aren't," Ms Lunny said.

"Also, systems must be regularly and robustly checked by people walking around and observing what's happening and if patients are safe."

Among the inquiry's teams, there is a hope that its findings to date will implement widespread change.

Speaking to BBC News NI a spokesperson for the inquiry said families, their experiences and having their voices heard was always its focus.

However, it acknowledged there were "hiccups" along the way including how families provided their statements and a Judicial Review following a challenge by families on why no health minister was ever called to give evidence.

It is what happened to men and women at Muckamore which triggered a major police investigation and a public inquiry.

That reinforces the significance of what happened inside the hospital.

Amid all the facts, figures, and statements it is vital that they are not lost in the process.

The future of Muckamore and finding permanent homes in communities for those who are still living there is yet to be finalised.

Achieving that with the families' support would be the ideal way for this inquiry to conclude.