Families of loved ones held at a mental health hospital at the centre of a massive abuse probe are refusing to give statements to a public inquiry into the allegations.
The probe concerns Muckamore Abbey Hospital, in Northern Ireland.
Glynn Brown with son Aaron. The campaigning father wants all medical evidence laid bare before he gives a statement to the Muckamore public inquiry
The families have formed a group, Action for Muckamore (AFM). It says members will not give statements because they do not yet know the full extent of the allegations.
The leader of AFM is Glynn Brown, whose son, Aaron, was a patient at Muckamore Abbey for around 18 months.
Retired prison officer Brown, 62, from Belfast, said the AFM families are only willing to make statements when they get “full disclosure”.
Public inquiry plus police investigation
Senior barrister Tom Kark KC is leading the public inquiry.
The police are conducting a separate safeguarding investigation.
Brown said the police probe is the largest adult safeguarding investigation since the formation of the NHS in 1948.
And that investigation is constantly unearthing fresh evidence.
He said he was assured when the scandal broke that Aaron, 26, who has autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, a learning disability and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a heart complaint), was involved in only one incident at Muckamore.
But according to his last update, Brown said his son has been caught up in 200 incidents.
He said families would be “extremely foolish” to make statements without knowing the full extent of the alleged abuse.
‘Important that the inquiry is thorough’
Reports suggest that AFM families want access to all medical records.
Brown said it’s more important that the inquiry is thorough and robust than swift.
Kark has said there would be a significant delay to the inquiry if families refuse to give statements until they see every piece of medical evidence.
Related:
- Hospital probe ‘must bring change’
- Dad demands inquiry over alleged abuse
- Call for release of report into abuse
Published: 27 November 2022
