Muckamore Abbey: Seclusion room pictures unveiled

Pictures of a seclusion room at Muckamore Abbey Hospital described by the mother of a patient as "a dark dungeon" have been released by the Belfast Trust.

The trust said it was important, given the public interest, to publish them.

The room is used "to contain severely challenging behaviour", its statement added.

The trust's action comes as two more nurses at the scandal-hit hospital were suspended, making the total 15.

It follows a damning review into the safety of adults with learning difficulties at the hospital.

CCTV footage, taken over a three-month period, shows patients being pulled, hit, punched, flicked and verbally abused by nursing staff.

Sources have told the BBC that the CCTV footage shows some of the most degrading and cruel behaviour against vulnerable adults ever captured in the UK.

Vulnerable long-term patients are expected to be moved from the hospital by the end of 2019.

Department of Health head Richard Pengelly said he was "angered that vulnerable people were let down".

In a statement, the Belfast Trust said it was continuing to view historical CCTV footage at Muckamore in County Antrim.

It added that, as of last Friday, two more members of staff had been suspended.

On Tuesday afternoon, the trust released photographs of the seclusion room used at the hospital.

In a statement, it said seclusion was a policy based on national guidance to contain behaviour likely to cause harm to both the patient or to others.

The room is not padded and there is an intercom. Prior to work earlier this year, there was a separate toilet but now there is direct access to this from the room. There is also access to a garden, a spokeswoman said.

Earlier in December, a woman, whose severely disabled son was placed in the room, said she saw a space with padded walls, no toilet and no drinking facilities.

CCTV footage from the unit shows her son being punched in the stomach by a nurse.

Speaking to BBC Good Morning Ulster, chief nursing officer Charlotte McArdle, said patients deserve answers but stopped short of calling for a public inquiry.

She said some patients had lived in Muckamore "for far too long".

The department began to investigate Muckamore following concerns raised by a parent of a patient.

It is understood that Belfast Health Trust officials had not been keeping the department properly consulted about what was going on at the hospital.

The review into the safety of adults with learning difficulties at Muckamore revealed that many lives were compromised. It also confirmed that children had been physically and mentally abused.

Nine families were affected by the abuse; seven of them have been engaging with health officials.

Mr Pengelly, the Department of Health permanent secretary, met the families at the hospital on Monday and apologised to them.

The confidential report, seen by the BBC last week, detailed "appalling behaviours that fell well short of what is acceptable", he said after the meeting.

Mr Pengelly said: "No-one should have to call Muckamore their home in future when there are better options for their care."

Alternative accommodation would have to be found for long-term patients, he said, and he expected them to be moved by the end of 2019.

The report listed a series of catastrophic failings and found there was a culture of tolerating harm at the facility.

The report's authors said it was "shattering that no-one intervened to halt the harm and take charge".

Some of the families of the victims have called for a public inquiry into the abuse scandal.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust are investigating what happened.