Debate contribution: Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Final Report

Debate contribution by Mr Mike Nesbitt on 22 June 2026.

MLA: Mr Mike Nesbitt
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 22 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution (made as a minister)
Business: Ministerial Statement
Heading: Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Final Report
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5637865

Text

I am not across the last point that the Member has made. Am I concerned about the trust taking an overly legalistic approach to it? Of course I am, because that is what Mr Kark reports in the inquiry report: that it was adversarial. Again, it is not about the volume of response, which is probably justifiable, but about the tone and the attitude. Did the trust make a decision that it had to protect the trust's reputation above safety and concern for the patients? That is unacceptable. I have seen it happen before in organisations where things go wrong and abuse takes place, and the first thing that the leadership does is say, "Let's form the wagons in a circle and let's not do anything about it". In fact, in one organisation that I was part of, I was made aware of historical abuse, and I phoned the father and introduced myself and asked how his son was. There was a long pause at the other end of the phone. I heard something that I thought was sobbing, and it was. The man, when he got himself together, said, "You are the first person in 10 years from that organisation to enquire about my son". If that is the sort of attitude that anybody in Health and Social Care is going to take, it is just not acceptable. I will not ignore it, I will not sit on it and I will be decisive.
I would like to think that the Department will discuss with the trust and any other relevant organisation, including the Patient and Client Council, which, of course, is there for such circumstances, and we can put in place some protocol for anybody who feels that they regret that they did not take the opportunity or did not have the opportunity to engage with the inquiry. When abuse occurs, it is always important that people are acknowledged and have the opportunity not just to tell their story but to have their story listened to and acknowledged by the right people. If the Member's constituent is looking for an immediate fix as far as being heard is concerned, I suggest that she contact the Patient and Client Council today.
It is not possible — I am surprised that the Member thinks that it is — to give a defined timeline for all 106 recommendations. Some are not even within my gift. Recommendation 88 is for the Police Service of Northern Ireland; recommendation 89 is for the Department of Justice; and recommendation 101 involves the Housing Executive and the Department for Communities. As I said, I have put the recommendations into three categories. I believe that the great majority are, basically, actionable immediately, and there are some whose resource implications I do not sufficiently understand. There are 27 that I want to explore with officials — I will do that at pace — and there are at least 11 that need exploration because of the funding and resource implications. Once again, Mr Kark's recommendation 2 gives me up to six months to respond. My Department and I and everybody in HSC will not take until Christmas to respond to the recommendations.

533 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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