Muckamore families see 'no good' in system after patient abuse
The health trust that runs Muckamore Abbey Hospital has said it is understandable that the families now see "no good" in the health and social care system.In its closing statement to the public inquiry into abuse of patients at the Antrim-based facility, counsel for the Belfast Trust said relationships needed to be rebuilt."Whilst it's perhaps entirely understandable given how let down those families feel, that they should at present see no good or nothing positive in the care provided to their loved ones by the health and social care system, it is a dreadful indictment," Joseph Aiken KC said.The Belfast Trust has apologised to all patients and their families for the abuse that occurred at Muckamore.
Mr Aiken added that "a way must be found to try and rebuild those vitally important relationships which must endure long after the public inquiry has completed its work".He repeated the trust's apology for the abuse.He said the trust also apologised for the behaviour of other staff who, while themselves did not directly abuse patients, may have witnessed it, failed to intervene and allowed it to go unchallenged."Further, the Belfast Trust acknowledged that the individual failings of the staff who abused patients or of the staff who failed to report and escalate abuse that they witnessed also meant that an important aspect of the governance system in place and operated by the Belfast Trust failed to prevent abuse, failed to detect abuse when it occurred, or when witnessed failed to escalate the fact that it had occurred," he said.Each of those instances, he added, were "systems failures" within the organisation.
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