The father of an autistic man at the centre of hospital abuse allegations wants a full public inquiry.
Glynn Brown hopes an inquiry will help spare others the trauma son Aaron, 24, suffered at Muckamore Abbey Hospital, in Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Aaron Brown, who allegedly suffered abuse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital
Brown’s campaigning uncovered the alleged abuse. He fought for the release of camera footage after being told his son had been allegedly assaulted at the learning disability hospital in August 2017.
Seven arrests
Eventually, the footage led police to make seven arrests, while 59 staff have had precautionary suspensions. Police have yet to charge anyone.
Police are said to be combing through thousands of hours of footage. Meanwhile, reports suggest there were 1,500 crimes on one ward alone.
Brown, 59, who has campaigned with wife Karen, 58, said his son was failed by safeguarding procedures and watchdog the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).
‘There needs to be radical change’
Despite countless RQIA inspections of Muckamore, the organisation did not highlight any alleged abuse, said Brown.
He added: “There needs to be radical change from top to bottom in all these organisations and all their safeguarding capacities.”
A review of leadership at the hospital last week found senior management from the Belfast trust that runs Muckamore were not focusing on it.
Instead, their priority was resettlement targets.
Call for a full public inquiry
Claire McKeegan is a human rights lawyer who represents most of the Muckamore patients’ families.
She echoed Brown’s call for a full public inquiry into “systematic abuse”.
Health Minister Robin Swann has promised an inquiry into the allegations.
He has stopped short of saying whether it would be a full public investigation.
But he has promised a fresh probe must focus on “how we stop this happening again”.
Autism Eye contacted the RQIA, but they did not immediately respond.
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Published: 19 August 2020
