Muckamore Abbey: Inquiry to ask if 'broader issues in play'

An inquiry into alleged abuse of patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital will ask whether there were "broader issues in play", according to senior counsel.

Sean Doran QC explained it would "not only look at the conduct of individuals" but also whether abuse "resulted from systemic failings".

He made the comments while outlining the inquiry's terms of reference.

It is to be wholly independent and not accountable to any public body.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital is run by the Belfast Health Trust and provides facilities for adults with special needs.

Dr Elaine Maxwell, Tom Kark QC and Prof Glynis Murphy are on the inquiry panel.

The aim of the inquiry is to establish what happened between residents and some members of staff, to examine management's role and ensure that such abuse does not happen again at the hospital or any other institution.

On the second day of public hearings, counsel to the inquiry Sean Doran QC said: "Looking beyond the conduct of individuals, the panel may wish to address questions such as, was there a culture within the hospital that enabled abuse to go unchallenged?"

"Were there failings at the level of management and oversight that contributed to the abuse?"

Mr Doran said the inquiry would also examine the response of relevant agencies when allegations of abuse of patients were reported to them.

These include the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Patient and Client Council, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).

"When concerns arose, how could those concerns be ventilated, how effective were the responses to those concerns, significantly were there failures in the early identification, investigation and resolution of issues raised about the treatment of patients?" said Mr Doran.

"This last question goes beyond the handling of individual complaints," he added.

"It will require the inquiry to consider whether there were earlier opportunities missed to detect the issues that were brought to the attention of the relevant authorities, when CCTV footage was uncovered."

CCTV footage was recovered following a separate police investigation into the abuse of vulnerable adults at the hospital.

Police have arrested 34 people. So far eight people have been charged and more than 70 staff have been suspended as a precaution.

The lawyer acting for the inquiry panel said the "subject matter of those proceedings is of direct interest to the inquiry".

"The inquiry will need to be fully informed of the basis of the evidence within those criminal proceedings, it will also need to be fully informed of the progress of those proceedings," said Mr Doran.

"Importantly, however, the inquiry will not be examining how those ongoing proceedings are being managed by the PSNI and the PPS (Public Prosecution Service)."

Mr Doran outlined that the inquiry will be examining "how complaints arising from the hospital have been managed historically by the police and prosecuting authorities", adding that this "doesn't apply to the current criminal investigations of prosecutions".

The inquiry also heard that, so far, 126 potential witnesses had made contact with the inquiry with statements taken from 40 individuals.

The senior inquiry counsel said the panel intended to hear from staff, "ranging from frontline staff to those in positions of management and leadership".

He added that the inquiry would also seek evidence from "relevant persons within the various authorities that have responsibility for the organisation, management, oversight and inspection of the hospital".

The lawyer acting for the inquiry panel is expected to conclude his opening statement later on Tuesday.