BRENDA ROWLEY LAUNCH STATEMENT

On behalf of the committee I would like to welcome you all the launch of the Malcolm Rowley Trust. The Malcolm Rowley Trust is about caring and every person here today is here because they care. Time does not allow for me to thank everyone individually but I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the MRT and thank you all for attending today and giving us your support..

Welcome to Donal MacIntyre who is here to launch the MRT. I want to thank Donal not just for being here today but also for the excellent work he has done in exposing the discrimination, abuse and neglect suffered by some of our most vulnerable people. I can't think of anyone more suitable than Donal to launch the mrt and I am very proud to have Malcolm's name associated with that of Donal MacIntyre.

I'd also like welcome Andy and Carol Hogan of net services Salford Quays who have donated the website for the MRT. Carol and Andy were complete strangers to me and in fact I hadn't even heard of them until six months ago when they contacted me after hearing of Malcolms death. They acknowledged the value and importance of Malcolm's life by donating the site in his memory and they have asked nothing in return. Carol and Andy are true carers and without them we would not be here today.

Thank you to Jamie Moore, Andy Whittle and all the team at net services for the work they have done in producing the site. I know our demands have given them many headaches the last few months but the end result is a perfect reflection of Malcolm's nature.

Thank you to the families here today who have had a member of their family die in the care system. I really do understand just how difficult this is for you.

I'd also like to thank the press for covering the launch of the MRT. Some of the journalists here today have been with us from the beginning and they have never made me feel that this is just another story. They have never been intrusive and have always treated Malcolm's death with respect and sensitivity.

I'd like to acknowledge the support given to me by MENCAP Community Support Team at Salford quays and in particular their area officer Andrea Boswell-Moore. I met Andrea a year ago after both Malcolm and my husband had died and I think I probably owe Andrea my sanity. She has kept me going when I've been ready to give up and given me her constant support not just as a MENCAP officer but also as a friend. Andrea has worked tirelessly in establishing the MRT, she is both passionate and determined in her effort to improve the care system and I know we couldn't have got this far without her.

I'd like to pay tribute to my husband and my mum. Fred was my strength when Malcolm died and my mum gave me comfort. I miss them both very much and I know they would be very proud of the MRT and what it is striving achieve.

Lastly and most importantly my children Lisa, Yvonne and Mark. Mark can't be here as he's in Africa but as always my girls are here to give me their support. In less than two years they have lost their brother, their father and their Gran and I know sometimes I've been so busy trying to establish the trust that I haven't given them the love and support they needed. They are the most precious things in my life and I know that without them I couldn't have carried on.

When Malcolm drowned in whilst in the care of Salford Social Services his death was dismissed as an unavoidable accident and the director of Social Services stated "we have taken very seriously the lesson to be learned from Malcolm's death". Since then there have been 3 more deaths within the care system, all within the Greater Manchester Area. Obviously the lessons have still not been learned.

For 18 months I fought to have the neglect involved in Malcolm's death recognized. I felt much anger and frustration as I didn't know what to do or where to go for help. I bounced from one place to another as every where I turned doors were closed in my face. The Malcolm Rowley Trust aims to stop the frustrations I encountered by providing people with the support and information they need.

When Malcolm died I was naïve enough to believe his death was an isolated incident. Since then I have spoken to many families whose relatives have suffered from abuse, neglect and even death whilst in care. As in Malcolm's case, some of these deaths have involved neglect. However I know of no case where a local authority has faced a criminal prosecution for neglect. I find this ironic when those same authorities have the power to take a child into their care if they even suspect that they are at risk from neglect.

There is much talk at present about the publics right to access of information. Social Services still deny me access to Malcolm's records and I have not been able to find public records that record the incidents of abuse or neglect that occur within the care system. It has taken me two years to find the report published by the Health and Safety Committee regarding major injuries and fatal injuries in residential care homes. It is interesting to note that in 1998, the year Malcolm drowned, there is no record of his death. This questions the public accessibility and accuracy of these records.

The Malcolm Rowley Trust intends to establish a data base recording incidents of abuse, neglect and death that occur within the care system. To do this we need the publics help. By telling us of their experiences we will create a peoples owned data base that is easily accessible

I believe we have encountered double discrimination regarding Malcolm's death. Firstly because of his disabilities and secondly because Malcolm was in care. I have been questioned as to my right to fight for Malcolm, as after all, I had placed him in care. This is totally irrelevant. I am not fighting for my rights as a mother but for the rights of Malcolm and all other people who are as vulnerable as he was. We are all entitled to the same basic right, the right to life.

I must emphasize the right to question if you have a concern regarding care. The care system was designed to care for, and protect our most vulnerable people and it must do just that. Too often the neglect and abuse that occurs in care has been excused and justified as an act of ignorance or a simple accident. This must be stopped.

I stress that it is not the intention of the Malcolm Rowley Trust to condemn the care system but to improve it. We will examine care procedures and the laws surrounding community care and campaign for change and improvement where necessary. No longer must vulnerable people be treated as second class citizens.

On a more personal note and I now speak on my behalf and not that of the trust. I have heard it said that Social Services are sick of Mrs Rowley. Well I have no intention of going away. Malcolm died needlessly and he died alone and scared. The name Malcolm Rowley must never be forgotten if we are to stop this ever happening again.

Finally. It is Malcolm's birthday tomorrow, he would have been 33. In honour of his birthday I ask that we remember the following people:

EDNA GREENMAN
MARGRET SMALLWOOD
ERIC BOLAND
UNNAMED PATIENT BILLINGE HOSPITAL
All died from drowning.

JOANNE SOURBUTTS
IRENE ARMISTEAD
AUDREY VARLEY
STANLEY GREGORY
MICHAEL WILLIAMS
JEAN MOON
BETTY KELSEY
All died after scalding in baths

ALAN SIDDALL
BRIAN ARMER
CHRISTOPHER BROWN
All died from choking

BERNARD WAUGH
Died from meningitis after being sent home twice from hospital

ADA BIRCHALL
Bronchial pneumonia caused by malnutrition. She died weighing just three stone.
All these people had disabilities, they all died within the care system.