Why let Muckamore languish when £143m Holywell replacement is stalled?

A LOCAL businessman and farmer has called on politicians and health trusts to consider repurposing Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

The call comes against the backdrop of closure - and the fact that a new mental health facility to replace the crumbling Holywell site is currently in limbo because of funding issues.

Back in 2023 closure of Muckamore - which is run by the Belfast Trust - was earmarked for June 2024, ‘dependent on all the remaining patients successfully transitioning to agreed alternative accommodation placements in the community’. However the date was extended after difficulties in finding new homes for the remaining residents.

Since allegations of abuse began to emerge in 2017, a number people have been arrested and several staff have been suspended from their jobs and The Muckamore Abbey Hospital Public Inquiry was set up.

Meanwhile, the replacement of Holywell, a Northern Trust facility, has been delayed, with the Department of Health saying there are not enough funds to progress the next stage of the replacement £143m Birch Hill centre in the grounds of Antrim Area Hospital.

Mr Harry Marquess has written to the Antrim Guardian to implore politicians and health trusts to explore a third way.

He said: “I have been following your articles in the Guardian over the last few weeks concerning the lack of finances for the new mental health centre at Birch Hill.

“I have contacted councillors and politicians over the past year concerning Mukamore Abbey Hospital, but unfortunately, they seem to be too busy to respond.

“My concern was why Muckamore Abbey Hospital could not be used again for the purpose it was once intended for - to look after children and adults who required special treatment.

“I can remember the farmer who once owned the land where the hospital now stands being ousted from his farm when the land was vested from him to build the Muckamore Abbey complex.

“I was present in 1953 when Lord Brookeborough cut the sod where the main building now stands, as a local resident who had friends and relatives working in the hospital.

“We watched it grow over the years. The local residents, including my family, collected money to build a swimming pool for the patients, and therefore local families were allowed to use the facility in the evenings.

“We also collected money to build the community hall, which was used for many years by staff, patients and the local residents until some ‘jobsworth’ decided it should be demolished to enhance the landscape.

“Muckamore Abbey has now become an eyesore.

“The stores that offset the main building and even the matron’s bungalow are overgrown by vegetation and can hardly be seen from the roadway.

“The only inhabitants in these buildings are thwe wildlife who use the derelict accommodation.

“The once well-use football pitch is overgrown by trees. It is a disgrace to see the way the Belfast Trust and all local politicians have allowed us deterioration to take place and then complain about the lack of funding for a new £143 million pound unit.

“Would it not make sense to have kept the hospital facilities used, rather than move to a new purpose-built premises at Birch Hill, where parking facilities at Antrim Area Hospital are already a problem?

“Our local councillors are concerned about the finances for the new premises of Birch Hill, and I have spoken to some privately as to why Muckamore Abbey cannot be returned to its former use.

“When I suggested the setting up of a drugs rehabilitation unit at the Abbey, it would seem that this was not on their agenda, although there appears that there are no local facilities for drug addicts on the street who need help.

“A few years ago, I had occasion to seek help for a local lad who had become addicted to drugs and although I contacted many people, I could not find any facility in Northern Ireland to accommodate him for on-site treatment. He was sent to the south of Ireland, and thankfully, the rehabilitation was successful.

“It would appear that, unfortunately, some of our politicians seem to be more interested in posing for a photograph and collecting their salary rather than looking after the interests of their constituents.

“As a person who has been in business and farming in the community for many years. I cannot understand how politicians think you can just go looking for money when our country is in such a sad state of debt.

“When you’re in business, you learn that you can’t keep spending money, or there is only one outcome.

“Unfortunately, common sense does not appeal to University-educated politicians. Incidentally, although my letter is concerning Muckamore, the same applies to Holywell Hospital.

“Holywell was once a well-run farm that occupied the patients by making hay, milking cows, growing vegetables, and gathering potatoes.

“Now, all you need to do is drive through the grounds, and you will see the way it’s been allowed to deteriorate. A retired matron was visiting Muckamore Abbey and someone showed her through the grounds and asked her what she thought and she replied: ‘I see a lot of nice new buildings and all the old ones are lying empty’.

“Does this ring a bell?”