Paedophiles' Gransha move in the spotlight

THE admission of two paedophile brothers to a Londonderry hospital following a campaign to remove them from the County Fermanagh village where they abused their victims compounded a "systemic failure in the proper safeguarding of children."

Thus claimed SDLP MLA Conal McDevitt during a briefing of the Stormont Justice Committee on the legal implications of the infamous McDermott case which centred on the paedophile brothers accused of a litany of sexual offences against children in Donagh.

Anger was sparked amongst victims in the County Fermanagh village when a judge - ruling the brothers unfit to plead - imposed a supervision and treatment order that saw them return to the scene of their abuse.

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But following the successful campaign for their removal from Donagh the voluntary admission of the brothers James (61) and Owen Roe McDermott (52) to a Londonderry hospital for vulnerable adults merely sparked further public ire in the North West.

Relatives were outraged when the paedophiles were admitted to a ward populated by vulnerable patients, some of whom had mental ages of four or five.

The Western Trust consequently apologised to the families for a lack of communication in transferring the brothers to the Brook Lodge disabled care facility at Gransha Park and moreover agreed to move them to a separate ward at the site.

But speaking during a Justice Commitee briefing last week SDLP MLA Mr McDevitt argued the move to Londonderry amounted to a "systemic failure" on the part of the statutory authorites.

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"The next step in this unfortunate series of events relates not to a further statutory failing but to the voluntary admission of the gentlemen to a hospital in Derry, ending up in them being in a hospital in very inappropriate and unfortunate circumstances," he stated.

"Again, there is an issue around a systems failure in the proper safeguarding of children. It strikes me that, although we can identify

potential legislative gaps, fundamentally, we are dealing with a cultural issue.

"It is a fact that the system, whether at the level of the clinicians who made the first evaluation, the judge who took a particular view as to what might have been within his jurisdiction or the supervising officers and others involved, failed to understand the consequences of the actions that they were about to authorise.

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"It would not have taken a rocket scientist to figure out that the residence to which the gentlemen were being returned was inappropriate.

It would not meet the standards in the new safeguarding legislation; indeed, it would certainly not meet common-sense child-protection standards anywhere.

"In justice and health, what is happening today at departmental level to begin to dive deeply into systemic issues that are still of concern?" he asked.

Dr Maura Briscoe, Director of Mental Health and Disability policy at the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) defended the Western Trust assuring Committee appropriate checks had been carried out by health care professionals prior to their admission to Gransha.

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"I assure you that the Western Health and Social Care Trust assures me that, prior to the brothers admitting themselves to hospital, pre-admission assessments were undertaken by appropriate clinicians and social workers, and further assessments have been undertaken since admission," she stated.

"I also assure you that there is a comprehensive plan in place, and this Department has sought the assurance of the Health and Social Care Board that the plan is appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

"It is a multi-faceted plan to deal with the many issues arising from the case in the community and, as you said, with respect to issues relating to child protection, vulnerable adults, survivors and community development.

"That cascade of information is encompassed in the Western Trust's plan, on which the Department, on behalf of the Minister, has sought assurance, and that assurance has been given," she added.

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Asked if she had seen the assessments Dr Briscoe replied that she had not, to which Mr McDevitt remarked: "The Western Trust's record in the past five years has, unfortunately, not been good. We have every reason to worry that yet another systemic failure has emerged."

Dr Briscoe replied: "I would not agree with that. Very early on, after the court pronouncement, the Department met the Western Trust, and it is in regular contact with the Western Trust and the board.

"I assure the Committee that a strategic group, which is chaired by Elaine Way, has been set up in the Western Trust along with a core multidisciplinary group.

"The solution is as much about sharing information, interface working, joint protocols between the police and the health sector, the

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involvement of social workers and GPs and the effect of all that on the community.

"A core group is leading that process, and it reports directly to the chief executive of the Western Trust. The board and the Department are in close contact on that."

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