Minister’s plea for information on LissueHospital

He was speaking after briefing members of the Stormont Health committee on the ongoing investigation into abuse allegations at Lissue Hospital in Lisburn, as well as at Foster Green Hospital and Muckamore Abbey.

Speaking to the Health Committee last week, Mr Poots explained the context in which the alleged abuse took place and how it is being investigated.

“I would like to put on record that there has been absolutely no attempt to cover up these matters or hide them from the public – or from the Police,” said Mr Poots. “All agencies involved in investigating the allegations of abuse, including the Police, did so in partnership, and with a determination to get to the bottom of the allegations and follow due process.”

He continued: “Whenever a child makes an allegation of abuse they must be listened to and the allegation must be fully investigated. However, while it is important to uphold the rights of the child, we are also obliged to protect the rights of others by ensuring that due process is followed in any disciplinary or criminal proceedings.

“That said, let me assure you that any new information that is brought forward, whether from staff, individuals who were former patients, or from any other sources, will be thoroughly investigated,” insisted Mr Poots. “We have long established protocols with the Police for this purpose and these are in operation today.

“It is clear from all of the reports, including from the retrospective sampling exercise, that the régime across all of the mental health and learning disability hospitals, in the 1970s, 80s and even in the 1990s, was by our standards today often harsh. Lissue House and Forster Green Hospital were certainly no exceptions.

“In this regard they were no different from mental health and learning disability hospitals elsewhere in the British Isles at the time and probably further afield. Indeed it could be said that many settings where children were cared for, including schools, during these decades could also be considered to be harsh and punitive by today’s standards. Therefore it would be wrong to judge them by our standards today.

“However, that is not to exonerate them in any sense, or to belittle the negative experiences that children endured, or the lasting impact this had on many of their lives, even to the present day.”

Speaking after the committee meeting Mr Poots stressed the case was not closed.

“I would appeal to anyone, but particularly former staff or former patients of these facilities, that if they have any information that would assist the investigation, please come forward and speak to the PSNI or else to the Health and Social Care Board or the Department” he said.

“This is a complex exercise involving people working together across a number of different agencies. We, in the health service, are continuing to liaise with the PSNI to make sure all information is taken into account and nothing is overlooked.

“Let me reassure people that any recent allegations still under investigation, and any future allegations, will be investigated thoroughly,” he concluded.