Anger and disappointment as hospital abuse report pushed back again

A woman whose son was a patient at Muckamore Abbey Hospital has said she is feeling "angry, disappointed and very emotional," after it emerged the report into abuse at the facility has been delayed again.

The outcome of the public inquiry has been delayed until June.

Dawn Jones said it has been "hanging over" families for a year and they "need some form of closure". She wants to see the recommendations implemented as soon as possible to protect others.

Jones, whose non-verbal son Timothy lived in the hospital for 12 years, gave evidence to the inquiry about what happened to her son.

Timothy is now living in his own home with 24-hour support from staff from the charity Positive Futures.

After almost three years of harrowing and traumatising evidence the inquiry finished on 10 March last year.

At that point it was hoped that the chair Tom Kark KC would return by the end of last year with his final report and recommendations.

Other parents, including Glynn Brown whose son Aaron was a patient at Muckamore, described the delay as "torturous and just another setback in what's been a laborious process".

Aaron's abuse was caught on camera when police officers visited the hospital in 2017 and their investigation triggered the UK's largest adult safeguarding investigation and made the hospital one of the nation's biggest ever crime scenes - according to data released by the police.

Unknown to staff, the CCTV cameras had been mistakenly left running for the six months since their installation, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

A staggering 300,000 hours of footage was discovered - equivalent to 34 years' worth.

It revealed not only the alleged assault on Aaron, but hundreds of other incidents carried out by hospital staff.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital is also at the centre of the UK's biggest-ever police investigation into the abuse of vulnerable adults.

In an update on his report, Kark said the delay was partly due to those who have been criticised in the report receiving a warning letter and being given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

"The contents of a warning letter are required to be kept confidential as between the inquiry and the recipient, but I can indicate that from the beginning of December last year and now, letters of proposed criticism in the report have been sent out to organisation and individuals.

"The dates for responses have been fixed. Some responses have been received; others will be received later in March 2026. All the responses will require careful consideration."

According to the chair, the delay is also due to the use of restricted material and working alongside the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service amid the ongoing criminal proceedings.

Agnes Lunny, the chief executive of Positive Futures, which works with and for people with learning disabilities, described the delay as a "really difficult and sad day for the families".

"Families need a sense of closure and justice. They had been expecting the report at the end of last year and then in March this year and now must deal with further delay.

"While waiting for the report and its long-awaited recommendations families and their children who are now adults relive what happened in Muckamore and what took place during the inquiry – it all just needs closure and allow people to move on, it's been going on for just too long," Lunny said.