Muckamore Abbey abuse inquiry finds mistreatment 'became a normality'

A major public inquiry into the abuse of vulnerable adults at Muckamore Abbey Hospital in Northern Ireland has concluded that mistreatment became "a normality," with patients suffering black eyes, broken bones, and severe neglect. The hospital, run by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in County Antrim, is at the center of the UK's largest police investigation into alleged abuse of vulnerable adults, with 124 people referred for prosecution.

Chaired by Tom Kark KC, the inquiry found that residents were subjected not only to physical abuse but also to "neglect, poor care and a wider diminution of their rights." Kark reported evidence of patients receiving unexplained injuries, being left unwashed, having faeces under their fingernails or on their clothes, and experiencing dramatic weight changes due to poor dietary care. Others were over-medicated and described as being "zombified."

Launched in 2022, the inquiry heard oral evidence from 181 witnesses and received 333 written statements. Investigators reviewed more than 300,000 hours of CCTV footage from the hospital. Allegations of abuse first emerged in 2017 through CCTV recordings, prompting the police investigation.

In response to what it called a "profound catalogue of failures," the inquiry made 106 recommendations aimed at preventing such abuse in the future. The hospital, which has cared for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs since 1949, remains under scrutiny as legal proceedings continue against former staff members.