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There is to be a public consultation on the proposed closure of Muckamore Abbey Hospital in County Antrim.

The health minister said, if approved, the closure would be "on a carefully planned and phased basis".

Families were advised of the move on Monday night during a meeting with Department of Health officials.

In a statement Robin Swann, who did not attend the meeting, said that there would be "intensive engagement with patients and families".

Thirty-five men and women are currently living in the facility, which supports adults with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs.

"The model of care represented by large hospital facilities of this kind is outdated and inadequate," Mr Swann said.

"That's why the overarching policy direction for people with learning disabilities has been to support long-stay residential patients to resettle into community based facilities where they can live as part of their local community."

The County Antrim hospital is at the centre of a public inquiry into allegations of abuse of vulnerable adults.

It is also at the centre of the UK's biggest-ever police investigation with some staff alleged to have carried out physical and mental abuse of patients.

Detectives have viewed about 300,000 hours of CCTV footage from inside the hospital.

Police have arrested 34 people; so far eight people have been charged, and more than 70 staff have been suspended.

It is not the first time there have been attempts to re-house Muckamore patients in the community; or that experts have advised that the hospital should close.

In January 2019, the then permanent health secretary said no one should call the hospital home "when there are better options for their care".

However, by December that same year, while 30 had been rehoused, 39 patients continued living in the hospital environment as no suitable place could be found for them in the community.

Finding suitable accommodation for vulnerable adults will continue to remain difficult as places and properly trained staff who can provide round the clock care are scarce.

In Monday night's statement, the health minister said any final decision to close the hospital will involve a defined timescale for closure and will be accompanied by a plan co-produced with current hospital patients and their families.

He also said that any decision to close the hospital will not affect either of the investigative processes currently under way.

In October 2019, the author of a review of adult safeguarding at Muckamore between 2012 and 2017 said it was disappointing that the hospital remained open.

At the time Dr Margaret Flynn said the hospital "needed to close".