Pain of abuse inquiry families 'beyond our comprehension'

The pain suffered by patients and their families as what happened at Muckamore Abbey Hospital became apparent is "beyond our comprehension", the final public hearing of an inquiry into abuse at the facility has heard.

Sean Doran KC, senior counsel to the inquiry, said it was a "sincere hope" that patients and families were given the answers they "rightly deserve".

The inquiry into what happened at the Antrim-based hospital, which provides facilities for adults for special needs, began in June 2022.

Mr Doran said its aim was to focus on an examination of the issue of abuse, the reasons for its occurrence and the need to ensure it does happen again.

The inquiry has sat for 120 days and heard oral evidence from 181 witnesses.

It is due to publish its findings later this year.

Muckamore is run by the Belfast Health Trust, which last week said patients' families were "undoubtedly failed".

There have been also been apologies from the Department of Health and the Chief Medical and Nursing Officers.

Mr Doran said there had been a "substantial" body of evidence brought before the inquiry panel.

That included testimony from families whose loved ones were patients at the hospital, as well as people who worked there.

Mr Doran said, in so far as was possible, the inquiry sought to hear from witnesses from "various categories and levels of staff who worked at Muckamore" and with "experience on different wards".

In addition to the public inquiry, a separate major police investigation began in 2017 after allegations of ill-treatment began to emerge.

Fifteen individuals are facing prosecution, among them carers and nurses.

Mr Doran said the fact that criminal proceedings were being carried out at the same time as the inquiry had posed "challenges".

However he said the inquiry had liaised regularly with the PSNI and Public Prosecution Service (PPS), and that appropriate measures had been undertaken to protect against the risk of prejudicing criminal proceedings.

"The inquiry has operated and will continue to operate with sensitivity to the live nature of criminal proceedings that may conceivably extend to some time beyond the life of the inquiry," he added.

Mr Doran further praised the contributions of two inquiry witnesses who have since died - Eileen McLarnon, who was a nurse at the hospital between 1972 and 2016, and Geraldine O'Hagan, who was a social worker for a number of patients' families.

Ms O'Hagan gave evidence to the inquiry in 2024 while terminally ill and died less than a month later.

"The fortitude that Geraldine displayed in assisting the panel in the face of serious illness will surely live long in the memory of all of us involved in this inquiry," Mr Doran said.

He also paid tribute to patients and their families for providing "insights of immeasurable value".

"The pain that they have endured on becoming aware of what occurred at the hospital is, quite frankly, beyond our comprehension," he said.

"We wish to acknowledge their courage in sharing deeply personal experiences with the inquiry."

He said they had provided "insights of immeasurable value to the important work in which the panel is engaged".

"They have done so selflessly. Importantly, they have done so for the benefit of the wider public interest that this inquiry was established to serve."

Dawn Jones provided evidence about her son Timmy.

She said she feels "exhausted" and "a bit upset" but also feels "joyful" that this part of the inquiry is over.

She said giving her statement was "a huge thing for me" because she was "speaking up" for her son.

Timmy is non-verbal and "can't speak up for himself".

Ms Jones said it's "very important for things to change in the learning disability community" and hopes any recommendations that come out of the inquiry will be implemented.

In his closing remarks, the chair of the inquiry Tom Kark KC said in giving their evidence, relatives of patients "gave their loved ones a voice they would not otherwise have had".

He thanked those who served as witnesses over the course of the inquiry, saying their evidence had been "crucial".

Mr Kark added: "We recognise that for many, probably all, the experience of giving evidence was itself very difficult.

"Further, for others just listening to the accounts of the patient experience, the evidence which they heard must have been very harrowing for many of them."

He also thanked staff from the hospital who came forward to speak about their experience there, including those who were critical of management.

"Some were frightened to speak but conquered their fear so that they could come and help us," he said.

He said he was grateful for that and that for, some of them, they showed "considerable courage".

The chair also said he was aware that some of the core participants in the patient groups did not agree with every decision he made about the manner in which statements were taken, the scope of the evidence or the documentation to be received by the inquiry.

"I can only say that I gave careful consideration to every decision I made and used my best judgment to do what I believed to be right, to secure the evidence we needed upon which a proper foundation for our conclusions could be founded."

"I have tried to act fairly in relation to every decision I have made," he said.

Mr Kark added that the completion of the evidence meant that the panel could now turn to the "serious work" of drafting the report and its recommendations.