Muckamore Abbey Hospital set to shut in June 2024

Muckamore Abbey Hospital in County Antrim is due to close in June under a plan announced by Stormont's Department of Health.

The hospital is the subject of a long-running criminal investigation and an ongoing public inquiry into the abuse of vulnerable patients.

Muckamore provides inpatient services for adults with learning difficulties.

Experts called for it to shut and, after a public consultation, the department has set a target date.

It said meeting that target would depend on all of Muckamore's remaining residents being "appropriately resettled in community settings".

The department also said that the setting of a planned closure date would not affect the police investigation into patient abuse, nor the work of the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry, which will both continue as scheduled.

"The model of care represented by Muckamore Abbey Hospital is outdated and not fit for purpose," said Department of Health permanent secretary Peter May.

"Living in the community, as part of that local community, is a much better alternative for people with learning disabilities."

Mr May added that he believed the closure was "in the public interest and will help expedite resettlement, which has been a long-standing policy objective".

The treatment of vulnerable adults at Muckamore has been under scrutiny for almost six years after allegations of serious physical, mental and verbal abuse first emerged in November 2017.

Dozens of people have since been arrested and questioned by police, including several former Muckamore staff members.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has trawled through more than 300,000 hours of CCTV footage from the hospital as part of the investigation.

In August 2019, detectives said they had viewed evidence of 1,500 crimes on just one ward.

A separate public inquiry, which was set up following a campaign from patients' relatives, began in 2021 and opened for public hearings in June 2022.

Not only have the abuse allegations caused major public concern, but expert reviews of Muckamore's operations have criticised the practice of housing people with learning difficulties in hospital on a long-term basis.

In some cases, disabled people lived in the hospital for decades as there was no alternative placement.

In October 2022, Stormont's then Health Minister Robin Swann announced a public consultation on the hospital's future, signalling his department's intention to close the facility and rehome its residents.

There were 117 responses and just under half of respondents 56 (48%) agreed with the proposal to close Muckamore.

The department said 43 respondent (37%) said they did not want the hospital to close, and a further 18 (15%) did not provide a clear answer.

Mr May insisted that the closure would proceed would be a "carefully managed and phased process".

"A detailed closure plan will be developed, co-produced by patients and families. It will clearly set out how the services currently provided on the Muckamore site will be delivered in agreed alternative settings."

However, he warned that current service provision at Muckamore remains "very fragile". 

"The proportion of agency nursing staff working on the site remains high, which continues to represent a vulnerability for both the safety and the sustainability of services," Mr May said.

Muckamore is run by the Belfast Health Trust, which has welcomed the department's closure announcement.

"We understand that a small number of our patients have lived on the Muckamore site for many years. To them, and their families, the hospital has become a home and today's announcement might lead to uncertainty and anxiety," the trust's statement said.

"We are fully committed to supporting those patients and families as they move to new homes in the community and will do our utmost to ensure that the transition is as seamless as possible."