Father of Muckamore patient calls for 'urgency' in implementation of recommended changes

The father of one of the patients who suffered abuse at a hospital for vulnerable adults has said he would like "urgency injected into the process" of implementing an inquiry's recommendations.

A number of long-term patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital suffered physical abuse, including black eyes, broken bones, bruising and excessive restraint.

The long-awaited final report into the abuse at the hospital was published in June.

The Health Minister Robbie Butler, who met some of the families of patients on Wednesday, said the department hopes to "provide a full response in advance of the six-month timescale set by the inquiry".

Glynn Brown, who was instrumental in getting the police to investigate initial allegations of abuse which involved his son, said the meeting with the health minister was "just more talk".

"We'd like to see a wee bit of urgency injected into the process," he said.

Brown added that families want "proof" of the work that they've been told is happening "behind the scenes".

"There's no evidence yet of any concrete advancement since the last few months."

He added that he will keep a close eye on who will be selected to implement changes as there are "a lot of staff that our group have no faith in".

"We won't give up until we've achieved what we set out to achieve."

Brown's son, Aaron, was among those whose physical abuse was captured on CCTV.

Speaking after the meeting, Butler said "it's important that we work with the families to regain that confidence which has evidently been lost over this past decade".

"In the time I am health minister, I want to see significant progress on that," he said.

Butler added that he aimed to provide a response to the inquiry's recommendations ahead of the sixth month deadline, and that he believed Wednesday's meeting had restored some confidence among families.

He said the unwritten contract between service users and health professionals is "in tatters because of incidents like this".

"There has been an inequity in health provision, and across society, for people with disabilities, and learning disabilities, for far too long.

"And this should be a sea-change moment."

Chaired by Tom Kark KC, the public inquiry ran for three years from June 2022, hearing oral evidence from 181 witnesses and more than 300 statements.

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.

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

These include changes to care plans for those with a learning disability, considering CCTV in some areas of care settings and for adult safeguarding to become a statutory duty, alongside the introduction of a legal Duty of Candour.

It also said it should be made easier to prosecute organisations who fail to prevent their employees causing harm to a patient.

On complaints, the report said procedures should be clearer and more accessible.

There were also recommendations around medication audits, closer monitoring of restraint and restrictive practices, and said seclusion should be used only in exceptional circumstances.

It recommended more effective inspections, including potentially using CCTV when a concern has been raised, and to spend more time talking to patients and families.