'We believe our daughter was abused at Muckamore hospital for 17 years - now we want answers'

Marjorie and Mark Sharp often ask themselves one simple question - what happened to our daughter in that hospital?

Laura, 41, was admitted to Muckamore Abbey Hospital when she was 16 and lived there for more than 17 years.

Her story, alongside dozens of others, is included in the Muckamore public inquiry into the abuse of adults - its final report is due to be published on Thursday.

"When Laura hears the word Muckamore she becomes anxious and fidgety she doesn't want to talk about it - things happened to her in there which she can't explain.

"One particular time she pulled her T-shirt up and she had bruises all around her chest and she stood up and said 'I'm scared'," Marjorie said.

The hospital in County Antrim opened in 1949 and became a regional hub for adults and children with severe learning and mental health disabilities.

Currently undergoing a planned closure, it's also at the centre of what's thought to be the biggest criminal adult safeguarding case of its kind in the UK.

Laura's dad Mark said in 2008 after they saw the bruising on Laura's body they turned to the police for help; but their investigation got nowhere when according to them, the police were told she was resting and could not be examined.

The Muckamore public inquiry began in June 2022 and heard oral evidence from 181 witnesses and a total of over 300 statements.

It was chaired by Tom Kark KC, who played a key role in the 2010 inquiry into avoidable deaths at Stafford Hospital in England.

A separate police investigation began in 2017 after allegations of ill-treatment began to emerge.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has trawled through thousands of hours of CCTV footage from the hospital as part of its investigation - it was also produced as evidence in the public inquiry.

While cameras were not fitted in Laura's wards, Mark and Marjorie believe their daughter's behaviour and marks of bruising on her body suggest she was subject to abuse.

"From the start she was over medicated, her life in the hospital was dominated by systems and behavioural management rather than understanding and treating her autism," Marjorie said.

It was only last year and after her parents insisted on an assessment that Laura at the age of 40 was diagnosed with autism.

In her parent's back garden a smiling Laura is listening to Adele and wearing her favourite colour red.

Laura clearly has learning disabilities and at times challenging behaviour, but she is also a young woman who loved playing badminton and who attempted to communicate through touching hands and smiling.

Her parents said it's a different picture from her days in Muckamore which confined her development and progress.

"Life could have been so different for Laura - over the years at Muckamore all they did was change the medication - they didn't treat her autism.