Chapter 16 — Hospitals

Witnesses

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

Record of abuse

As already stated, 31 witnesses, 17 male and 14 female, made 33 reports of abuse in relation to 18 institutions referred to as hospitals. One witness reported being abused in three different hospitals in the course of consecutive admissions. The 33 reports covered a 56-year period and included all types of abuse defined by the Acts, specifically physical and sexual abuse, neglect and emotional abuse.2 A report of abuse made by a witness may either refer to a description of a single episode or to multiple experiences of being abused. In most, but not all, instances reports of abuse in hospitals refer to more than one episode of abuse and more than one type of abuse.

All four abuse types were reported with similar frequency as detailed below: Nineteen (19) witnesses reported physical abuse. Sixteen (16) witnesses reported neglect. Fifteen (15) witnesses reported emotional abuse. Fourteen (14) witnesses reported sexual abuse.

Sixteen (16) witnesses reported that abuse was a regular occurrence and was most frequently reported as a combination of abuse types, as outlined in Table 93:

Abuse types and combinations	Number of reports
Physical, neglect and emotional	9
Sexual	8
Physical and neglect	4
Physical, sexual, neglect and emotional	3
Physical and emotional	3
Neglect and emotional	2
Physical, sexual and emotional	1
Physical and sexual	1
Physical	1
Sexual and neglect	1
Total	33

Twenty four (24) reports were of combinations of abuse, 21 of which included physical abuse. The most frequently reported combination of abuse was physical and emotional abuse and neglect, reported by nine witnesses. It is notable that eight reports were of sexual abuse alone. In those eight instances witnesses described their experience of being sexually abused as isolated events in the course of their hospital admission.

Fourteen (14) of the 18 hospital facilities reported to the Committee were each the subject of single reports. The other four hospitals were each the subject of between two and seven reports, totalling 19 reports.

Physical abuse

The wilful, reckless or negligent infliction of physical injury on, or failure to prevent such injury to, the child.3 Reports of physical abuse included descriptions of incidents of physical abuse, non-accidental injury and lack of protection from such abuse. Accounts were heard of witnesses being hit, beaten with implements, and kicked. Accounts were also heard of witnesses being immersed in water, physically restrained and isolated.

There were 22 reports of physical abuse by 19 witnesses in relation to 10 hospital facilities, as follows: Four (4) hospital facilities were each the subject of two to four reports, totalling 16 reports. Six (6) hospital facilities were the subject of single reports.

Nine (9) reports related to witnesses discharged in the 1950s and five related to witnesses discharged in the 1970s. The remaining eight reports were related to discharges in the 1940s, 1960s and 1990s, in diminishing frequency.