Brown said what happened there was “not an isolated failure – it was the predictable outcome of a safeguarding system that does not enforce its own rules”.
“We support the introduction of the Adult Protection Bill. The need for this legislation has been clear for many years,” he said.
“As far back as 2014, following failures at Cherry Tree Care Home, the commissioner for older people called for stronger adult protection.
“More than a decade later, families are still describing the same failures, the same gaps, and the same harm.”
The Adult Protection Bill is designed to protect people who may be at risk of harm and is currently at committee stage.
Brown told MLAs the bill needed to be strengthened in four areas if it was “to genuinely protect vulnerable adults”.
He said these related to the use of CCTV, culture, independent advocacy, and training, investigations and adherence to procedures with proper oversight.
Brown said the core problem was not a lack of policy, but the absence of enforcement, oversight and accountability.
There needed to be statutory oversight of the safeguarding process, which was not currently a function of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), he said.
Brown urged MLAs not to let the bill “become another promise without protection”.
Catherine Fox from Action For Muckamore said the bill needed to ensure in law that poor culture “cannot survive”.
She said the new law was “an opportunity to hardwire a safeguarding culture that protects people, listens to families and supports staff who do the right thing”.
“If culture is not addressed properly in this bill, the same behaviours will continue, even under a new framework,” she added.