Inquiry opens into alleged patient abuse at Muckamore Abbey

More than 70 staff suspended and 34 arrested at psychiatric hospital in County Antrim since allegations came to light

A public inquiry has opened into allegations of extensive and repeated abuse of patients at Muckamore Abbey, a hospital for vulnerable adults in Northern Ireland.

The inquiry's chair, Tom Kark, said at the first hearing on Monday that the allegations of abuse and neglect at the psychiatric facility outside Belfast, in County Antrim, brought the medical, nursing and care professions into disrepute.