THE PSNI has pledged that any new information about alleged abuse of vulnerable children at two former children’s hospitals in Northern Ireland will be thoroughly investigated.
Police made their commitment after an official 2009 report, which has only come to public light now, uncovered complaints about sexual, physical and mental abuse of young girls at Lissue Hospital in Lisburn, Co Antrim, and Forster Green Hospital in Belfast in the 1980s and 1990s.
Based on the report, police carried out a number of investigations into the alleged abuse and a number of files were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which is now part of the North’s Public Prosecution Service.
The report was carried out after a former patient at Lissue Hospital complained to police about the “physical, mental and sexual abuse” she said she suffered as a child in the late 1980s, the Irish News reported. The woman accused six staff members, including senior nurses, of abusing children.
Independent consultant Bob Stinson carried out the investigation after the Belfast Trust and the former Eastern Health Board were alerted. His report was completed in January 2009 but not publicly disclosed. However, details of the investigation were this week published in the Irish News by its health correspondent, Seanin Graham.
Three allegations were made about staff sexually abusing girls aged between eight and 13. A third allegation of a 13-year-old girl being sexually abused by a male nurse at Lissue in 1979 while she was heavily sedated was found not to be corroborated. No one was charged as a result of the allegations and the claims were denied.
More generally, Mr Stinson’s investigation pointed to a harsh and unforgiving regime at times operating at Lissue and Forster Green hospitals. His investigation covered the period from 1979 until 1995 at the hospitals which catered for vulnerable children and young people with conditions such as suicidal tendencies, anorexia and behavioural problems.
The report, according to the Irish News, addressed complaints such as staff watching children undress; a teenage girl being instructed to undress because she was suspected of concealing cigarettes; staff being violent to patients; staff “humiliation” of children; and older children sexually assaulting younger patients. The treatment of one child was described as “void of humanity” and other staff actions as “child cruelty”.
In one instance, following the report, an alert was issued about a former Lissue male nurse, who still worked with the National Health Service, to prevent other employers offering him work. He took early retirement in June 2009.
The DUP Minister of Health Edwin Poots said he was “appalled” at the allegations. “I want to say how sorry I am for those children and young people who may have been subject to abuse or mistreatment in these facilities. I take this matter extremely seriously,” he said.
“I have tasked officials with providing me with the full information. My initial briefing indicated that officials have acted appropriately, but clearly I want to examine the details of all these matters fully. I want to be certain that appropriate actions were taken at all times. It is essential that the public have the maximum confidence in the care provided across our services,” he added.
Details of the report have emerged as an official Northern Executive inquiry into state and church institutional abuse of children is about to get under way.
