MANAGEMENT and leadership at a Northern Ireland hospital at the centre of an abuse probe need to be improved, an independent review has found.
The year-long Serious Adverse Incident (SAI) report into Muckamore Abbey hospital, outside Antrim town, which cares for adults with severe learning disabilities, also warned that its adult safeguarding measures are inadequate.
Details of the review's conclusions come two months after The Irish News revealed that CCTV footage on a hospital ward had apparently shown nurses striking vulnerable patients.
A police investigation is ongoing, with more than 70 allegations currently being investigated.
A total of 13 staff, the majority of whom are nurses, were suspended as a result of the recordings. Most of the alleged abuse centres on psychiatric intensive care ward.
The SAI 'level 3' - the highest level NHS probe - was headed up by expert Margaret Flynn, the co-author of the 'serious care review' into the Winterbourne View care home scandal in Bristol in 2011 which led to six care workers being jailed.
Reviews of this kind are extremely rare, with fewer than 10 carried out in Northern Ireland over the past two years.
The full report has not been made public and has not been shown to the families.
Ms Flynn however met privately yesterday with some relatives of those affected to outline her draft recommendations.
In an interview with The Irish News last month, the father of one patient who was allegedly "punched in the stomach" by a staff member, criticised the "drip feed" of information from the trust and the "lack of transparency".
Ms Flynn's report examined the role of the Belfast health trust - which is responsible for Muckamore - and its "effectiveness" in managing safeguarding concerns at the Co Antrim facility.
In a statement, the trust said: "The findings highlighted that improvements are required in leadership and management, adult safeguarding approaches, advocacy, access to meaningful activities for patients and physical health care.
"We fully accept all the findings and we will now work to ensure these are delivered.
"The report strongly urges the trust and the wider health, social care and housing organisations to re-double their efforts to ensure that patients do not have to live in hospital environments.
"It recommends patients are enabled to live full lives in the community, with access to the right specialist multi-disciplinary support in the right accommodation."
The trust added it wanted to place "on record" its "sincere apologies" to patients and families affected by "staff behaviours which fell significantly below professional standards and were unacceptable".
