Belfast Health Trust has delivered letters of apology to parents and guardians of patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital. The letters address the effects of staff ill-treatment recorded on CCTV from March to September 2017.

Around 28 letters, signed by Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh, were hand-delivered by Family Liaison Officers to arranged homes. Each family has a dedicated officer to assist with health and legal matters during the police investigation.

The letters invite family representatives to meet senior trust staff involved in disciplinary actions against implicated employees. Glynn Brown, whose son Aaron was a patient, welcomed the letters after a five-year wait and expressed encouragement about Welsh's approach.

Brown looks forward to the meeting with questions for Welsh. Dawn Jones, whose son Timothy was a patient, plans to attend but questioned the timing after five and a half years.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital faces the UK's largest police investigation into abuse of vulnerable adults. The public inquiry's final report is now due in June after concluding evidence hearings on 10 March last year.