SENTENCING six care workers to prison after they admitted horrific abuse at an English home, a judge spoke of how their behaviour had triggered "widespread feelings of revulsion".
The care home was Winterbourne View and the case only came to light in 2011 after a BBC Panorama reporter secretly filmed footage of disabled residents being slapped, taunted, trapped under chairs and soaked in water.
Within a year of the graphic images being televised, nine care workers and two nurses were given custodial sentences, five of which were suspended.
The disturbing reports in today's Irish News about alleged physical assaults by staff on extremely vulnerable patients in Muckamore Abbey Hospital emerged as a result of CCTV recordings.
Some of this footage dates back more than a year and suggests a devastating catalogue of abuse, including terrified patients being 'dragged by the hair' from their beds, kicked and ignored by staff while 'placed in the dark'.
The scale of the suspensions has never been seen in the Northern Ireland health sector - with a rash of 'precautionary' expulsions over the past fortnight and others pending.
Legitimate concerns are being raised however about the length of time it has taken to investigate the claims.
While investigations must be thorough, the safeguarding of the most vulnerable and voiceless people in our society should also be paramount.
The distressing allegations have been relayed to patients' families and trust officials insisted last night they were in "regular communication" with them and existing care was 'safe'.
Just six weeks after the publication of an alarming report into abuse at Dunmurry Care Home that sparked a public outcry, it can only be hoped that trust bosses and police act swiftly to ensure accountability - and most importantly to protect seriously ill patients.
READ MORE:
- Major abuse probe at Muckamore Abbey Hospital leads to 12 nurses being suspended
- Muckamore continuing to provide long-term care despite drive to end 'institutional' settings
- Former health minster's brother cared for in Muckamore
