Muckamore: Social worker 'horrified' by hospital CCTV footage
- Published
Geraldine O'Hagan says she no longer fears losing her job by speaking out
A family liaison social worker for the Muckamore families has described watching "horrific" CCTV footage as part of an investigation into alleged abuse at the hospital.
Geraldine O'Hagan told the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry that what she viewed she will take to her grave.
Ms O'Hagan sat at the hearing while her statement was read into evidence.She told the inquiry that she had been recently diagnosed with stage four cancer, was receiving hospice care and did not know how long she had to live.
Adding that she had waived her right to anonymity as the "fear of losing her job no longer had a hold on me".
The inquiry is examining allegations of abuse at the hospital outside Antrim which is run by the Belfast Health Trust.
It provides facilities for adults with special needs.
A separate major police investigation began in 2017 after allegations of ill-treatment emerged.
In her statement, which took several hours to be read into evidence, Ms O'Hagan gave examples of bullying towards her, a lack of communication to families and a poor relationship with the hospital's senior management.
She said she was viewed with "suspicion", was constantly having to explain her role to staff members and questioned as to why she was asking questions of other trust staff.
The facility is at the centre of the UK's biggest ever police investigation into the abuse of vulnerable adults
Ms O'Hagan added that she was met by "obstacles and barriers" during her time at Muckamore.
Around 20 family members had come to the inquiry to show their support for Ms O'Hagan and sat in the public gallery for the duration. When her evidence was complete, the families burst into applause.
Ms O'Hagan told the inquiry that her role, within the Belfast Trust, was that of a family liaison social worker who worked to support families and individuals impacted by what had happened at the hospital.
Initially she was part of a team reviewing referrals of CCTV footage of alleged abuse at the hospital.
She described being asked by senior management to watch CCTV incidents from eight camera angles at the same time, a task she said was "impossible".
She said she raised the issue with management but the response had left her feeling "undermined".
'Made to feel like an idiot'
The inquiry heard Ms O'Hagan recount being told by a Designated Adult Protection Officer (DAPO), who was part of the team viewing the footage, that "it didn't matter if things were missed because the police had the footage too".
Ms O'Hagan said she was bullied and "isolated" by the team and made to feel like an "idiot".
She described viewing footage of a patient being held down on both sides by members of staff with their head pushed down on a table and their arms pulled up around their back.
She asked another member of the viewing team to identify the member of staff. She said "she shrugged her shoulders and said it happened all the time".
During her evidence, Ms O'Hagan said she observed "clique" behaviour amongst staff where some staff would behave badly when working in a certain group and behave differently when not.
She described a Serious Adverse Incident which happened to a male patient in 2022 where there were minutes missing from the police meeting, information not being shared with the patient's mother and a copy of the CCTV footage not being shared with the family.
"I felt disempowered, if I met obstacles as a social worker how bad must it be for the families".
The system at Muckamore, she said, was severely broken.
After Ms O'Hagan's statement was read in, she took a short break to consult with the families and returned to speak directly to the inquiry.
She said that families felt "unheard".
Ms O'Hagan added that fundamental health care needs were not being met and that there was a lack of family involvement in patient care plans.
"It has been nothing but a pleasure to work with the families", she said and thanked them for allowing her into their lives.
Finally adding that she had "faith in inquiry, that no stone would be left unturned" and that she hoped others "never, ever had to suffer like these families had".
The chair of the inquiry, Tom Kark KC, thanked Geraldine O'Hagan on behalf of the inquiry and said that she could leave secure in the knowledge that she had done her best and had succeeded.
The families have described Ms O'Hagan as "open, honest and transparent".
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