Hospital abuse caught on camera
How mistakenly switching on CCTV triggered the UK’s biggest adult abuse investigation.
File on 4 Investigates · BBC Radio 4
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Show Notes
When the parent of a patient in a psychiatric hospital questioned why he couldn’t see CCTV footage of an incident involving his son it led to a series of extraordinary discoveries. Glynn Brown was told that cameras had never been switched on despite being present throughout wards at Muckamore Abbey Hospital, in Northern Ireland. In fact, the cameras had been recording for six months without staff knowing. In all, they captured 300,000 hours of footage which is reported to show appalling abuse and cruelty against patients – many of whom are non-verbal and have complex needs. File on 4 Investigates has spent months examining what happened and highlights how – eight years on from the discovery – no criminal cases have yet come to trial. It also considers why the scandal has not drawn more public outrage, and what lessons are being learned to protect patients elsewhere?
Reporter: Noel Titheradge Producer: Fergus Hewison Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Richard Vadon