CCTV evidence of patient abuse in County Antrim hospital

The lead police officer investigating allegations concerning patient abuse at County Antrim’s Muckamore Abbey Hospital has confirmed the existence of CCTV footage revealing 1,500 crimes taking place in the hospital’s psychiatric intensive care unit.

The incidents took place over a six-month period between 2017 and 2018, with more than 50 reported assaults by staff on patients.

Detective Chief Inspector Jill Duffie, the lead officer in the investigation, has confirmed police are systematically reviewing over 300,000 hours of CCTV footage, minute-by-minute. She advised that the tapes show a repeated pattern of patient abuse and are crucial evidence in the case, as many of the patients would not have been able to inform anybody what had happened to them.