Catherine Moore News NI
The mother of a man with complex needs has said he has gone from “walking with his shoulders down and head bowed,” to “walking upright,” since he moved to his own bungalow.
Dawn Jones’ non-verbal son Timothy lived in Antrim-based Muckamore Abbey Hospital for 12 years.
A public inquiry into abuse at the facility, which sat from 2022 until March 2025, is expected to deliver its final report and recommendations later this year.
Timothy is now living in his own home with 24-hour support from three staff from the charity Positive Futures.
Ms Jones said that it was hard to explain the difference the move had made.
“He looks happier, he looks more in control of his environment,” she told News NI’s Good Morning Ulster.
Timothy moved into his own home as part of an ongoing resettlement process, aimed at moving patients to community placements.
Ms Jones said her son can now use the kitchen in his bungalow.
“He can make himself a cup of tea with supervision so he doesn’t burn himself.
“He has changed so much. He’s non-verbal but he’s starting to make wee noises which is promising.”
Timothy can also go out “basically whenever he wants to”, Ms Jones said.
“He can indicate he wants out by going to the front door and getting his coat.
“He’s taken out and either walks round to the shops and back or he’s taken out in the car – whatever is his choice.”
‘Timothy is safe’
And it’s not just Timothy’s life that has changed.
“My life and the family’s life has changed so much for the better,” Ms Jones said.
“We’re all happy, we realise that Timothy is safe.”
“Now he’s in a happy environment,” she said. “Life is good now.”
Agnes Lunny, chief executive of Positive Futures, said the charity had a “genuine commitment to listening to people whose needs are a little bit different to the rest of ours”.
“This is not a miracle, this is not magic, this is the result of very hard work,” she said.
She said anyone could “be supported to live in the community” with “the right support from the right people”.
What happened at Muckamore Abbey Hospital?
A major police investigation began in 2017 after allegations of ill-treatment at the hospital began to emerge.
The final public hearing of the inquiry into the abuse took place in early March.
It is due to publish its findings later this year.
The hospital was due to close in June 2024 but this was delayed as alternative accommodation placements in the community had not been found for all the remaining patients.
There are currently 13 patients still living in the hospital. The Department of Health (DoH) said the majority will be resettled “by the end of the calendar year”.
A DOH spokesperson added that the department remained “committed to the resettlement of all remaining patients” and to “the closure of the hospital”.
Twenty-four patients have been resettled from Muckamore since August 2022, the spokesperson added.
Ms Lunny said the remaining patients “also have a right to live in the community”.
“We need that resource moved from the hospitals into the community,” she said.
“But we also have to remember that until alternatives in the community are found, we have to be very careful to meet the needs of the people who still reside [in the hospital].”
