'Hard to see trust not take accountability for failings at Muckamore,' says victim's sister

The sister of a man who was in a hospital for vulnerable adults where some patients suffered abuse said it is "hard to see" the Belfast Trust not "taking accountability for what went on".

Jennifer Dawson said her brother Matthew is "suffering from trauma" from his time in Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

On Thursday, the long-awaited final report into abuse at the hospital said a number of patients suffered physical abuse, including black eyes, broken bones, bruising and excessive restraint.

Speaking after the report was published, the trust's chairman Stuart Elborn, offered "an unreserved apology" and said it takes "full responsibility" for people being failed on many levels over many years.

However the report said that the "attitude of the trust", seen in correspondence sent on its behalf during the course of the inquiry, gave rise to "serious concern as to whether the Belfast Trust has the capacity to change its ways independently and without external forces brought to bear".

In light of the "adversarial approach" taken during the process the inquiry touched on how "difficult a task" individual families attempting to challenge the trust must have been on occasions.

Dawson said the report is a "mix of emotions for us all" as her brother "has been identified as being allegedly abused".

"It's had such an impact not only on our loved ones but for us as families.

"It's something that no other family should go through, we fought for this inquiry to make sure there is change for the future," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"We still have questions and some of them will never be answered, we still don't believe that the Belfast Trust are taking accountability for what went on.

"In their closing statement in the inquiry the Belfast Trust barrister maintained that the abuse was rare.

"In the report the inquiry state they are disappointed to find that the Belfast Trust still don't accept that the evidence given by families and patients should be given equal weight to the records held, which is just unbelievable."

Dawson questioned: "Why are our loved ones' voices not being heard? Why are us as families not being heard?

"It is just hard to see that the trust still aren't taking accountability for this."

Dawson added that families are advocating for CCTV in care providers.

She said care providers "should be open and transparent with having CCTV in place if they've got nothing to hide"

"It's just a safeguard for everybody and it shows that if we didn't have CCTV in Muckamore we wouldn't be where we are today and the scandal never would have come out."

The report found that systems and structures in place were wholly inadequate to manage the scale of abuse uncovered through CCTV review in 2017 and evidence from CCTV footage taken from inside the hospital captured patients clinging to wheelchairs, being spat at and so heavily medicated that they'd become "zombified".

The report recommends that facilities caring for those with learning difficulties should consider the installation of CCTV in the public areas, for the protection of vulnerable individuals and for staff, alongside consultation with families.

The report into what happened inside the hospital found "deviance" was so normalised that working below par became acceptable.

The report also makes it clear that abuse did not involve every patient nor every member of staff, nor a majority of the staff.

But many patients had their lives made "miserable" by systematic bullying by certain members of staff whose job it was to look after them.

Inquiry Chairman Tom Kark KC also said the inquiry had heard about inappropriate use of restraint and there were issues with the hygiene of patients.

He said the abuse was preventable.

The report made a series of recommendations aimed at protecting vulnerable adults in care.

Catherine Fox's daughter Alicia was a patient in Muckamore from 2015 to 2018.

She said it was a "toxic culture that needs to go".

She told Good Morning Ulster that she was "raising concerns in relation to my daughter, where I felt she was in a very unsafe environment".

"I was not listened to," she said adding that she had now been "vindicated".

"It was an unsafe environment.

"We need guarantees that these recommendations will be implemented.

"Our fight has only begun and we will be depending on our government to implement and protect vulnerable people."

Prof Andy McDonnell is a clinical psychologist who works with adults with mental disabilities.

He visited Muckamore in the 1990s.

After reading the report he said "it kind of resonates quite well that this place is well known for many years as having problems and issues around supporting the vulnerable".

At more than 700 pages long, the report lists 106 recommendations.

"I've never read so far so many indicators and red flags over a 20, 25-year period than I've read in this report."

He thinks "not all the lessons have been learned. We're still herding people together in expensive placements across the UK and also in the Irish Republic".

• What were the findings of the report?

Northern Ireland's Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the report was a watershed moment for how the health and social care system cares for the most vulnerable members of society.

"The system, which should have ensured that the most vulnerable in our society were protected, nurtured and cared for, failed you in that core duty.

"You were let down and for that I am truly sorry."

He has said many of the recommendations set out in the report can be implemented before Christmas.