Chapter 16 — Hospitals

Witnesses

Twenty four (24) of the 31 witnesses reported having ongoing contact with their parents and/or other family members during their time in hospital and when they were discharged. Four (4) other witnesses reported having little or no family contact following their admission and feeling abandoned by their parents in the process. Information regarding family contact was not available about the remaining three witnesses.

All 31 witnesses reported having siblings and 27 came from families of more than four children.

Six (6) witnesses reported having siblings who were also in out-of-home care. Five (5) of those witnesses reported that they and their siblings were admitted to out-of-home care in the context of parental death, illness or impoverished circumstances and neglect. They were admitted to Children’s Homes, Industrial Schools or county homes. Another witness reported having a sibling who was also in a long-term hospital placement for medical reasons.

At the time of their hearing most witnesses were aged between 40 and 59 years and three witnesses were aged under 40 years, as the following table indicates:

Age range	Males	Females	Total witnesses
20–29 years	1	1	2
30–39 years	1	0	1
40–49 years	6	3	9
50–59 years	6	6	12
60–69 years	3	3	6
70 + years	0	1	1
Total	17	14	31

Twenty three (23) witnesses were living in Ireland at the time of their hearing and eight were resident in the UK.

Witnesses reported being admitted to hospital in various circumstances for both brief and lengthy periods of time. Among the reasons stated for admission to these facilities were acute and chronic illness, physical disability, convalescence, and for social reasons such as parental abandonment and family crises caused by illness, death and marital separation.

Sixteen (16) witnesses reported being hospitalised for the treatment of illnesses and disabilities that necessitated lengthy admissions and that, in a number of instances, resulted in life-long health and mobility impairments.

Eight (8) of the 16 witnesses reported having serious injuries, illnesses and physical disabilities including spina bifida and polio, which required medical treatment not available to them at the time on an outpatient basis. Five (5) other witnesses who were hospitalised for the treatment of chronic conditions reported being diagnosed with tuberculosis and were in-patients for between one and 14 years. Three (3) witnesses reported that they were admitted to hospital as a result of a combination of illness/disability and what they believed was their family’s inability to care for them. Some admissions that were believed to have been initiated as family respite placements extended into long-term admissions due to the unavailability of out-patient facilities, especially in rural areas.

Eight (8) witnesses reported being hospitalised for the treatment of acute medical illnesses or injuries, including pleurisy, diphtheria, rheumatic fever, appendicitis and sports injuries. These witnesses had relatively brief admissions, of between a few days and several months’ duration.

A further six witnesses were admitted to hospital facilities because their respective families were reported to be unable to cope with their child’s illness or disability and/or associated parental responsibilities. In three instances witnesses reported being placed in county homes following the death of a parent while awaiting longer term residential placements. Two (2) of the witnesses were then transferred to Industrial Schools and one witness reported being retained in a county home until sent out to work at 14 years of age.

One witness reported that he was transferred to an adult psychiatric hospital from an Industrial School following an altercation with staff in the context of physical abuse.

The evidence presented by witnesses would indicate that the age of admission to these hospital facilities varied according to the reason for admission. Most admissions were at relatively young ages, with 18 of the 31 witnesses admitted to hospital facilities when they were aged five years or less, as shown in the following table:

Age of first admission	Males	Females	Total witnesses
0–5 years	9	9	18
6–10 years	4	3	7
11–15 years	3	1	4
16–17 years	1	1	2
Total	17	14	31

Four (4) witnesses reported being admitted to hospitals at birth or in early infancy as a result of their physical disabilities and that they remained in residential facilities for the duration of their childhood and adolescence. Other witnesses reported that, as a result of their disability, they were unable to attend their local primary school when they reached school-going age, and were instead admitted to residential facilities.

The length of time the 31 witnesses reported being in out-of-home care varied between five days and 18 years. Fifteen (15) of the 31 witnesses reported spending five years or less in hospital for treatment of their particular illness or disability. Table 91 illustrates the range of time witnesses reported being hospitalised and in out-of-home care:

Length of stay in care	Males	Females	Total witnesses
<1 year	4	4	8
2–5 years	3	4	7
6–10 years	3	5	8
10+ years	7	1	8
Total	17	14	31

The average length of stay reported by witnesses in the hospital facilities was seven years for male witnesses and four and a half years for female witnesses. Eight (8) witnesses reported being abused during admissions of less than one year. There was a marked difference in both the average length of stay and type of abuse reported by male and female witnesses. A higher proportion of female witnesses reported abuse during brief hospital admissions and more male witnesses reported being abused in the course of lengthy admissions. These differences were reflected in the ages at which witnesses reported being discharged from out-of-home care, as shown below:

Age when discharged	Males	Females	Total witnesses
<7 years	0	3	3
8–10 years	3	6	9
11–15 years	6	2	8
16+ years	8	3	11
Total	17	14	31