Muckamore Abbey Hospital abuse inquiry to begin

An inquiry into allegations of abuse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital officially begins on Monday.

The Co Antrim facility treats patients with severe learning difficulties and mental health problems.

Allegations of abuse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital - which is run by the Belfast Trust and located on the outskirts of Antrim - first came to light in 2017.

Police said they reviewed thousands of hours of CCTV footage as part of a major investigation.

At present seven people are to be prosecuted and more than 20 have been arrested for a range of offences, including alleged ill-treatment and wilful neglect.

The core objectives of the inquiry are "to examine the issue of abuse of patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital (MAH), to determine why the abuse happened and the range of circumstances that allowed it to happen and ensure that such abuse does not occur again at MAH or any other institution providing similar services in Northern Ireland".

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Source: Belfast Telegraph, 11 October 2021