Muckamore Abbey Hospital nursing staff express serious concerns over management

Furious nursing staff at Muckamore Abbey Hospital have raised serious concerns over management claiming that they 'aren't doing their jobs properly'.

Numerous staff have contacted the County Derry Post to voice their concerns about ongoing issues within the hospital which is earmarked for closure in June.

The hospital, which is on the outskirts of Antrim and which provides facilities for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs, has been at the centre of a long-running investigation into reports of patient abuse by staff.

The staff, who have contacted this newspaper are employed by Belfast Trust, and claim that management are 'turning a blind eye' to a lot of staffing issues within the hospital.

The fed-up employees have accused management of 'failing to provide any support or response when staff escalate issues to them'.

They have also claimed that on occasions when they have reported issues, management have shown confidential reports to other staff.

Further claims made by the Trust staff include agency workers falsifying time sheets, agency staff 'sleeping on the job' and giving diabetic patients numerous Mars bars for breakfast.

The Trust staff say they are also upset because they do not know what will happen to their jobs come June.

Several months ago, a video was circulated among staff showing a countdown timer to the closure of Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

They claim that this timer was created by HR staff and say it has caused anger among employees who were originally told they would automatically be redeployed within the Belfast Trust or Northern Trust.

Now they allege they have since been told that they must go through a recruitment process before being employed by any other hospital.

“The Belfast Trust say they aren't offering redundancy as it's not the Belfast Trust closing it, it's the Department of Health,” said a Trust staff member, who wanted to remain anonymous.

“They told us they were going to do whatever was needed to get us redeployed but now we believe they were just telling us that to keep us here.

“They are now saying if you want a job within another hospital then you must apply for it and if there are more than three people in for that job then you must go through a recruitment process.

“It's not our fault that they are closing but it's worrying that we could be left with nothing.”

Nurses employed by the Trust at Muckamore received an additional 15 per cent pay increase for their contracted hours however they claim this was taken off them after two months when agency staff were employed.

“We had it (pay increase) for about two months and then they took it off us again,” another employee claimed.

“Then they said they were bringing in a specialised staff (agency staff) who were mental health trained, yet none of them are trained for learning disability.

“They've taken our 15 per cent off us along with our overtime to give agency staff full time work when they aren't needed.

“The remaining staff that are still there want to know why they are being treated differently. We are being discriminated against.”

The staff claim they are 'constantly being watched on cameras by management and being scrutinised' however 'agency staff are never pulled for anything'.

“The way management speak to staff is terrible,” a nurse told the County Derry Post.

“Staff are escalating issues to management but there's no support or response to our emails. Anything that goes on now, we are scared to voice it because we know that nothing is going to be done any more.

“They say one of the values with the Belfast Trust is an open and honest policy – no it's not. If nothing is being done about these issues, then it's not open and honest.

“They aren't supporting us because they couldn't care less about it. They have to tolerate the agency staff's bad decision making and their poor care because legally they have to have a certain number of staff to keep the hospital open.

“They don't manage a crisis the way they should manage it. There's no confidentiality whatsoever and management are constantly telling lies to staff and patients.

“Even when we are attacked by patients, we are never even asked by management if we are ok? They don't reply to any of our emails and back-to-work meetings are not being held for staff who have returned to work having been off on long term sick leave.

“You're bringing things to them, issues we have, and the emails are just being ignored. I think they are just laughing at us, it's like they don't care, that's what it feels like.

“From what happened, they still haven't learned, they just brush everything under the carpet.”

The staff have also expressed concern over patient care within the hospital.

“Not one of the management are LD (learning disability) trained, they are just trained in mental health – now there's some difference in that – that's like a baker and a mechanic, and these are the people running the place,” the employee continued.

“Patients' medications are given at a certain time and they are given at that time for a reason because they are long acting or slow acting. Some of them are not getting the medications until the middle of the day and then they are all out of their routine. Patients are actually starting to ask for their medication now, it's that bad.

“Then you have agency staff who are giving diabetic patients Mars bars to eat after their breakfast to keep them quiet - that's neglect and it's slowly killing them.

“Daily notes aren't being recorded. Some patients may need their medication upped and some might need them lessened. Night staff don't know what the patient needs because day staff aren't recording information on their notes, and vice versa.

“In the past syringes have not been put into the Sharps bin – if a patient had have got access to those needles and stabbed a staff member, where would you stand there? It's things like this that is all being brushed under the carpet.”

The staff say they have reported these issues to the RQIA (Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority) but claim 'it's all falling on deaf ears'.

“Management just are not doing their jobs. They aren't following through when they are presented with concerns and allegations about other staff and issues within the hospital wards,” continued the frustrated nurse.

“We need to see more senior management on the wards and have them asking the staff if anyone wants to have a chat if they have any concerns – we want them to do their job. We've nobody to talk to.

“Nobody has come to chat to us either. The Health Minister Robin Swann hasn't come to see any of the staff. All over Covid we got nothing. Every other hospital got all the praise, yet we got nothing. We are no different to any other hospital. The situation has actually forced staff who have been there years and years to leave.

“You're treated like dirt, the way management speak to you. We are at breaking point at this stage. Management aren't doing their job. They aren't supporting the Trust staff. I have nothing against the agency workers but there is a major difference being made between us and them.”

A spokesperson for Belfast Trust last night said: “Belfast Trust is responsible for leading on the implementation of the planned closure of Muckamore Abbey Hospital in June 2024, following the decision made by the Department of Health. A draft Equality Impact Assessment has assessed the potential impact on current and future patients, families, carers and staff in terms of equality, good relations, human rights and identified measures to lessen any potential impact of the closure.

“We understand that the closure of Muckamore Abbey Hospital has created uncertainty for staff and as part of our engagement with all key stakeholders we have facilitated additional engagement sessions and 1:1s for staff to provide further opportunities to discuss our future service model.

“We take the care of our patients and any concerns our staff have extremely seriously. We encourage our staff to make management aware of any issues giving them concern which can also be raised through our whistleblowing process. We have a low threshold for taking action and when it is required we will take the necessary steps to ensure the concern is addressed appropriately.

“We are fully committed to supporting patients, families and staff in the months ahead and will do our utmost to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible.”