Ireland’s Health minister Paul Goggins is under pressure- he is asked to respond to allegations of sexual abuse of and by patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital, which ‘cares’ for people with learning and mental disabilities.
The Muckamore Abbey Hospital, which houses around 100 adults and 17 children, is now under police investigation.The issue came about when a former patient sent a letter of complaint to the North and West Belfast Trust and Eastern Health and Social Service Board, informing them that, an older patient had sexually abused him, when he was a teenager and staying at the hospital.
The officials of the Health Board then informed the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland). They began a probe into the matter.
It was seen that there were references to sexual abuse in hospital records of this patient by an older patient and other sexual incidences involving minors . This covered a period from 1960 to 1982.
Since yesterday when the Belfast Telegraph brought this police investigations to the public’s notice, there has been intense speculation and public furor over how such a case could go unnoticed for around 22 years.
It is understood that the probe includes at least 40 former patients, including both adults and children.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has given that its child abuse and rape unit is conducting an investigation into 'allegations of inappropriate behavior between patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital more than 20 years ago'.
Source-Medindia
ANN
