A MAN who was a victim of horrific sex abuse as a child in homes run by religious orders has been left waiting more than a month for hospital tests despite being deemed a 'red flag' urgent case.
Kevin McGuckin (62), who has learning difficulties, has been severely haemorrhaging blood and suffering from excruciating stomach pain.
Sitting in the Co Antrim care home where he has lived for more than 20 years, the vulnerable man's hand is held by his sister Margaret as he speaks of the "agonising" pain he has endured.
His stomach is visibly swollen and he has lost large amounts of blood since Christmas.
Following an appointment with his GP over a month ago, his case was classed as urgent where the maximum waiting time to see a hospital consultant should be a fortnight.
Ms McGuckin confirmed that they had just received confirmation her brother will receive a scan at Antrim Area Hospital early next month and that he will be kept in overnight.
Visibly distressed, Mr McGuckin said he "doesn't like hospitals" but knows he requires urgent treatment.
"I have to go to the hospital for a scan. I was in agony, crying and vomiting. I fell too. All I want is to get better and to get a little car," he said.
Institutionalised in homes since the age of four after his mother left him and his three siblings, Mr McGuckin was a normal, happy little boy until he was taken into care after their father was unable to look after the family.
He was initially moved from the family home on the Ormeau Road in Belfast to Nazareth Lodge, where he stayed until he was 11, and then onto Rubane House in Kircubbin.
Mr McGuckian told the Irish News: "The Christian Brothers had sex with me every day and then they would strip me and beat me with a strap in a farm house. Afterwards they would give me sweets."
His sister believes his physical and mental health problems are directly linked to decades of abuse suffered.
"My brother's life has been snatched from him," she said.
"He was the loveliest little boy but since he went into the homes he's never had a life. He's helpless. We thought society would look after but instead he was put in institutions where he should never have been.
"When he was in his late teens he had a little job in the Wellington Park hotel and he drove a wee car. He loves motorbikes - he dreams of going to the Isle of Man races.
"If we ever get compensation from the (institutional abuse) inquiry I will take him there."
Inquiry 'has not been worth it'
A YEAR on from the conclusion of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, a high-profile campaigner says the trauma relived by people in the witness box "wasn't worth it" as the findings have "borne no fruit".
Margaret McGuckin, who set up Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse (Savia) 10 years ago, said she had been "close to a breakdown" recently as distressed victims tell her of their frustration.
Speaking to The Irish News a year after after Sir Anthony Hart published the findings of the first public inquiry of its kind in the UK - which called for a public apology and compensation for more than 500 victims of state abuse over a 73-year period - the high-profile campaigner said victims have been left to "look after themselves".
The power-sharing government collapsed just days after the report was released last January and its recommendations have remained on the shelf in the absence of ministers.
Ms McGuckin said it was her understanding that more than 60 of the abuse victims who gave evidence have died since the inquiry was first established in January 2013.
"We're seeing too much suffering here - how many more people have to die?" she said.
"People are reaching us from all over the UK, as well as Canada, America, Australia. You have to live with this, it makes you feel bad, the onus is on you.
"The ruination of my brother's life has happened to so many families. We have to see this and we're helpless. We're looking after each other.
"There are times recently when I thought I was falling apart - people contact me throughout the day and night.
"We've begged and pleaded and followed them over to Westminister last November."
Savia has requested a meeting with the new secretary of state Karen Bradley - but had no acknowledgement.
"Small amounts of compensation would make such a difference to people's lives. There's my brother whose face lights up when you give him money just to go to the shop for sweets. It would bring him a wee bit of joy," said Ms McGuckin.
She also spoke of the personal toll the campaign has taken on her.
"No-one sees what I am going through - you put a big brave act. It's been 10 years. I thought the inquiry would have been over in two years.
"It wasn't worth it. I wouldn't have gone through the campaign if I'd known this. We don't see any fruit."
Victim Kate Walmsley, who was repeatedly abused from the age of eight while in the care of nuns in Nazareth House in Derry, said she regrets taking part in the inquiry.
She has received no counselling since the hearing and feels it had had a detrimental impact on her.
"It's left me with a load of pain, I don't think I've benefited from it. All I want is a public apology in the same way as the Bloody Sunday victims," she said.
"I don't blame Sir Anthony Hart, I was glad he said the abuse was systemic, but things need to happen now."
