Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry | Mencap | Easy Read

Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry

A hospital with a fence around it. Around the hospital are a woman with her hands over her ears, a man punching holes in a wall and a man looking at the ground.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital is a hospital for people with:

mental health issues
severe learning disabilities
challenging behaviour.

A map with Northern Ireland highlighted in bright green and a location pin which says Northern Ireland.

The hospital is near Antrim in Northern Ireland.

Three people sitting behind a bench with the word inquiry on the front of it

An inquiry is when a team of people try to find out the facts to help work out why and how something happened.

A man grabbing a teenager by the arm

What is the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry?

The Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry has been looking into abuse at the hospital.

Calendars with the years from 2013 to 2022.

Some people were in the hospital for lots of years.

The prime minister Keir Starmer, and a man and a woman.

The government said the inquiry had to take place.

A man in a suit holding some papers and standing beside a hammer and gavel.

A lawyer called Tom Kark has been in charge of the inquiry.

A man shrugging his shoulders

What did the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry want to do?

The inquiry wanted to find out why the abuse happened, and how it was allowed to happen.

A cross beside a man reaching around to touch a woman's breast.

The inquiry wanted to make sure that abuse like what happened at Muckamore Abbey does not happen again.

A man with a clipboard thinking. On one side of him is a manager and a hospital. On the other side is a map of the UK with Northern Ireland highlighted and a member of healthcare staff.

The inquiry looked at if the abuse happened because of:

how the hospital was run, or
how the health system works in Northern Ireland.

A calendar showing 2 December 1999 and an arrow going from it to a calendar showing the date 14 June 2021.

What happened during the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry?

The inquiry looked at things that happened at Muckamore Abbey Hospital between 2 December 1999 and 14 June 2021.

A calendar showing 14 June 2021 and an arrow after it.

It also looked at what happened after 14 June 2021.

Different pictures of people being restrained, held down, alone in a room, being attacked

The inquiry looked at the different sorts of abuse that happened.

A man with his hands on his face looking shocked

And how serious the abuse was.

A woman looking bored in a bare room, a man stealing some money, a woman making a man undo his shirt and a man stamping on another man's hand.

Some of the different sorts of abuse the inquiry looked at are:

physical abuse
sexual abuse
emotional abuse
neglect
financial abuse .

Two people in hoodies pointing at an older lady who is looking upset.

It also looked at any other bad behaviour towards patients.

You can read some easy read information about different sorts of abuse at https://www.mencap.org.uk/easyread/lets-talk-about-safeguarding-what-abuse

Two men sitting at a table. One man is talking and the other man is listening.

The inquiry spoke to:

patients at the hospital
people who used to be patients at the hospital
staff who used to work at the hospital
family members of people who were at the hospital.

A report and beside it is a calendar with the date 18 June 2026.

What is happening next with the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry?

Tom Kark has said that the final report from the inquiry will be ready on Thursday 18 June 2026.

A woman looking at a laptop screen

You will be able to read the report on the inquiry website www.mahinquiry.org.uk

A laptop with www on the screen.

You will be able to hear people talk about the report on the inquiry website www.mahinquiry.org.uk