Muckamore: Families launch legal challenge against inquiry

Solicitor Claire McKeegan represents a number of patients’ families.

She said other issues included plans to hear closing statements before all the evidence has been heard, and the hearing of evidence in private sessions.

Ms McKeegan criticised plans by the inquiry to hold discussions with families in relation to the resettlement of patients from Muckamore early next year – after the inquiry concludes.

“Now resettlement as we all know for our patients’ families is what will secure their futures,” Ms McKeegan said.

“Resettlement into the communities having not been dealt with properly is the reason why many patients have been languishing in Muckamore Abbey Hospital for decades.

“This is one of the most important parts of this inquiry and our clients say that should not be done in a private session.”

A spokesperson for the inquiry confirmed that it was planning to carry out facilitated sessions for families, patients and carers to discuss their experiences with resettlement.

“This would be planned for an informal setting in the form of facilitated discussions, in the presence of the panel, to allow for recent experiences to be related and discussed, distinct from the way in which formal evidence is gathered when the inquiry sits in public,” the spokesperson said.

“The invitation will be entirely voluntary, not limited to core participants, and would be recorded, with a summary of each discussion published (subject to any necessary restriction order) without attributing names to speakers.”

Ms McKeegan said: “What counsel in court today said was that a public inquiry should be the very cornerstone of openness and transparency and they feel that they have been sidelined.”

The public inquiry got under way in October 2021and closing submissions were planned before the end of this year.

On Thursday, a case management hearing for judicial review was heard at Belfast High Court and a full hearing was confirmed to take place on 2 December.

A separate major police investigation began in 2017 after allegations of ill-treatment began to emerge.

Fifteen individuals have been prosecuted in relation to the criminal investigation.