PSA responds to Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry
23 Jun 2026
The Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry has revealed a shocking pattern of abuse, neglect, poor care and safeguarding failures affecting some of the most vulnerable people in society. The PSA welcomes the report and the recommendations which are aimed at preventing such failures occurring in future.
Amongst the many findings of the Inquiry is that families found the complaints system opaque and difficult to navigate, felt unsupported or even discouraged in the complaints process, and feared that raising a concern might negatively affect their loved one’s care. This resonates with the findings of the PSA’s research into barriers to making a complaint which found that both patients and professionals experienced uncertainty about how and where to complain, perceived the complaints system to be ‘hostile’, and worried about the repercussions of complaining on their care or their career.
In response to the findings of the Inquiry, Dinah Godfree, PSA Head of Policy said:
“We extend our sympathies to all those affected by the shocking abuse uncovered by the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry. The Inquiry highlighted the difficulty families found navigating the complaints system. Ensuring patients, families and health and care professionals can have the support and confidence to speak up when they witness or suspect unsafe care is crucial to keeping people safe. That’s why fair, accessible and robust complaints processes should be seen as a key component of safe care, rather than a ‘nice to have’. As part of this, employers, patients, and professionals should have access to clear information about when to refer a complaint to a professional regulator, so that they can take action where it’s needed.
“The behaviour uncovered at Muckamore Abbey represents a gross breach of professional standards, as well as the trust that patients and the public place in health and care professionals. These types of abusive behaviour, alongside toxic workplace cultures, have no place in healthcare.”
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the editor
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is the UK’s oversight body for the regulation of people working in health and social care. Our statutory remit, independence and expertise underpin our commitment to the safety of patients and service-users, and to the protection of the public. There are 10 organisations that regulate health professionals in the UK and social workers in England by law. We audit their performance and review their decisions on practitioners’ fitness to practise.
- We also accredit and set standards for organisations holding registers of health and care practitioners not regulated by law. We collaborate with all of these organisations to improve standards. We share good practice, knowledge and our right-touch regulation expertise.
- We also conduct and promote research on regulation. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally, providing guidance to governments and stakeholders. Through our UK and international consultancy, we share our expertise and broaden our regulatory insights.
- Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.