FAMILIES of Muckamore Abbey Hospital patients have welcomed the first prosecutions into alleged abuse at the Co Antrim facility, which come four years after a parent raised the alarm.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) yesterday confirmed that seven people are to face charges in relation to allegations of "ill-treatment and wilful neglect" at the hospital's psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU), which cared for critically ill adults with severe learning disabilities.
It is understood all seven are members of staff at the regional hospital that is now at the centre of the biggest criminal safeguarding investigation of its kind in Northern Ireland.
Relatives of patients affected received correspondence from the PPS yesterday to inform them.
Dundonald man Glynn Brown, who first contacted police in August 2017 after learning his son non-verbal son Aaron (24) was allegedly assaulted in PICU by an employee, said the development was important in their pursuit for justice.
He heads up a group, Action for Muckamore (AFM), made up of relatives who successfully campaigned for a public inquiry.
"It's been a long four years to get to the prosecution stage and I hope the silent voices of those vulnerable patients will at last be represented," Mr Brown told The Irish News.
"This scandal has wrecked so many families. I'm hoping that PPS decisions on other police files will follow swiftly."
Prosecutors received their first file from the dedicated team of PSNI detectives heading up the probe last Easter.
A second police file was sent in December, which focuses on a further eight suspected staff members, and is under "active consideration".
More than 300,000 hours of CCTV footage from Muckamore have been examined by police in the unprecedented probe - staff did not know the cameras were switched on - with 1,500 suspected crimes discovered in one ward alone over a six-month period.
PPS Assistant Director Martin Hardy yesterday said: "This decision follows a thorough consideration of all the evidence in an investigation file received from police in April 2020.
"We acknowledge how difficult this process has been for the patients and their families, and we recognise the great dignity that they have shown. We will continue to engage with them and ensure they are kept informed as the process continues."
Solicitor Claire McKeegan, who represents the AFM families, also welcomed the move.
"The families have been waiting patiently every day for this news. These suspects have allegedly been involved in some of the most vile crimes in Northern Ireland being brought before a court," she said.
"The alleged abuse at Muckamore is the most egregious assault on the vulnerable, the isolated and inarticulate. Society requires that care is furnished with utmost good faith. It is important that those responsible are brought to justice."
PSNI Chief Superintendent Anthony McNally, who heads up the public protection branch, said the PPS decision represented "significant progress in this police investigation".
"Specially trained officers will continue to provide support to the families whose loved ones are at the centre of this investigation. From the outset we have been committed to working closely with them, with the aim of keeping them as informed as much as we possibly can and we will continue to do so. The protection of our most vulnerable is a priority for the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
