Northern Ireland's health minister has said there was a "sustained failure of care" at Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

Robin Swann was speaking after a review of leadership and governance at the hospital was published by the Department of Health on Wednesday.

Allegations of physical and mental abuse against patients at the hospital began to emerge in 2017.

Seven people have been arrested and there have been 59 precautionary suspensions of staff.

No one has been charged.

Mr Swann said he is to establish an inquiry into what happened at Muckamore, adding: "This was a sustained failure of care, affecting some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

"Patients and families have been let down and I want to apologise to them on behalf of the health and social care system."

The review said a prior investigation into allegations of abuse represented a "missed opportunity".

Systems to protect against risks to safe and effective care were not implemented properly and senior staff did not use their discretion to escalate matters, it said.

The hospital provides facilities for adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs and is run by the Belfast Trust.

The review found that the Belfast Trust Board and Executive Team rarely discussed Muckamore Abbey Hospital and that the focus of trust leadership was on resettlement targets.

The Belfast Trust chief executive, Dr Cathy Jack, said she welcomed the review's publication and apologised unreservedly to patients and their families who had been failed by the trust.

"It is clear there were serious failings in leadership and ineffective escalation of serious matters at Muckamore, despite appropriate governance structures," she said.

'Rigorous processes'

"This contributed to an environment which enabled the serious maltreatment of vulnerable people to go unnoticed for so long. This is a matter of profound regret and for that I am deeply sorry."

The review was commissioned to build upon the serious adverse incident review (SAI) into the hospital.

It confirmed the SAI conclusions that the hospital was viewed as a "place apart" which operated "outside the sightlines and under the radar of the trust".

Dr Jack said there were now "rigorous processes" in place to ensure the safe care of patients, and that a culture of openness between staff and families was encouraged.

The report also detailed challenges and tensions within the management team at the County Antrim hospital, a lack of continuity and stability at director level, and "a lack of interest and curiosity" about Muckamore Abbey Hospital from the Trust's Board.

The review team found that CCTV cameras were operational in the hospital from 2015, but it took "an inexplicably long time" to produce a policy to implement CCTV in the hospital.

The health minister said the patients and their families deserved "much more" than apologies - that they needed answers, and confidence that what happened at Muckamore would never happen again.

Dr Jack said there had been many "significant" improvements and the Trust was confident Muckamore Abbey Hospital was "a much safer place today".