Tom Kark KC said mistreatment became a normality at muckamore abbey hospital, where patients suffered black eyes, broken bones and severe neglect. Police have referred 124 people for prosecution over allegations linked to the Northern Ireland hospital, which cared for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs.
Tom Kark KC inquiry
The inquiry chair said he heard evidence of patients receiving unexplained black eyes and broken bones, not being washed, and having faeces under their fingernails or on their clothes. He also said some patients became obese or lost weight dramatically because of a lack of care over diet, while others were over-medicated and described as “zombified”.
The inquiry found “neglect, poor care and a wider diminution of their rights” and produced 106 recommendations after hearing oral evidence from 181 witnesses and receiving 333 statements. Investigators also reviewed more than 300,000 hours of CCTV footage from the hospital.
Muckamore Abbey Hospital
The hospital is run by the Belfast health and social care trust in County Antrim and has cared for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs since 1949. Allegations first emerged in 2017 through CCTV footage, and the inquiry began in 2022.
The scale of the review places the hospital at the centre of the UK’s largest police investigation into alleged abuse of vulnerable adults. For patients and families, the inquiry’s findings leave the police referrals and the 106 recommendations as the clearest route into what happens next.
Police referrals
The referral of 124 people for prosecution turns the inquiry’s findings into a legal process that can still move case by case. Kark called the failures a “profound catalogue of failures”, and that description now sits alongside the evidence gathered over years of footage, statements and witness accounts.
What matters now is how the recommendations are taken forward and whether the police referrals lead to charges. The inquiry has set out its findings; the next step is whether the criminal cases match the scale of abuse described in the hospital records and witness testimony.
