Muckamore Abbey Hospital Closure Date Extended

The planned closure date for Muckamore Abbey Hospital has been extended, the Department of Health has announced.

A target closure date of June 2024, set last year, was dependent on all the remaining patients successfully transitioning to agreed alternative accommodation placements in the community.

NI's new Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, has said that while much work has been done to date, it was now clear that not all the remaining patients will be successfully resettled in advance of the proposed closure date

Mr Nesbitt said: "I am very aware that as we get closer to the anticipated closure date of June 2024, the lack of clarity about the immediate future of the hospital is heightening levels of anxiety among the remaining patients and their families about the future arrangements for their care; this uncertainty is also impacting on hospital staff.

"The resettlement process, particularly for those patients who have spent a considerable part of their lives in Muckamore, can be complex and any attempt to rush this work risks the breakdown of individual community placements, and I know such breakdowns can be a difficult and traumatic experience for patients and their families."

He added: "Planning will continue at pace in relation to establishing resettlement timelines for the remaining patients, and the work being progressed by the Belfast Trust to close the hospital will continue. However, setting a further target date at this point for the hospital’s closure is not helpful to patients or families. Nonetheless, the direction of travel remains closure and this will happen when all those at Muckamore have been resettled.

"Work to transform adult learning disability services will also continue. The Department is working with all Trusts to develop suitable alternative service provision to ensure that specialist Learning Disability Assessment and Treatment beds, as well as enhanced community preventative services, are available to meet the needs of the learning disabled population. In addition, work to develop a draft Learning Disability Service Model is at an advanced stage."

The planned closure of the hospital will have no bearing on the criminal investigation in relation to the hospital or the work of the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry. These will both continue according to their planned schedules.