Muckamore Abbey abuse scandal: Chair of public inquiry appointed but not revealed

The name of the inquiry chair has not yet been announced.

This comes after concern about the length of time that has passed since Health Minister Robin Swann announced his intention, back in September last year, to hold an inquiry into allegations patients were abused at the specialist facility for adults with serious mental health and learning difficulties.

Glynn Brown, whose son Aaron was a patient at the hospital at the time of the abuse allegations, has spearheaded the campaign for an inquiry.

Speaking to the News Letter yesterday, he said he would reserve judgment until learning the identity of the new inquiry chair.

“I would welcome the appointment, but would have to see who is appointed,” he said. “It is crucial the person has standing, and is able to run an inquiry.”

He added: “This has to be someone without fear of vested interests.”

Mr Brown had earlier expressed concern about the lack of action since the minister announced he would call the inquiry.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “Minister Swann announced his intention to establish a public inquiry into the allegations of abuse in Muckamore Abbey Hospital on September 8, 2020.

“The first step Minister Swann took was to secure the Patient Client Council (PCC) to facilitate engagement sessions with families and patients, current and former, to identify the type of chair they would wish to have, along with what should be included in the remit of the inquiry.

“The department received the report of this engagement in March 2021. Since then work has been ongoing to appoint a suitably experienced chair. The chair has now been appointed and the name will be released very shortly. It will then be for Minister Swann, in conjunction with the chair to finalise the terms of reference and decide on any additional panel members to support the chair, taking full account of the PCC report.”

The criminal investigation into the abuse allegations, meanwhile, has resulted in a total of 22 arrests to date.

The Public Prosecution Service announced in April that seven people are to be charged with a range of offences relating to the ill-treatment of patients.

The Belfast Trust has suspended more than 70 staff.