“There should be domestic abuse specialists based in every Northern Ireland hospital”

The murder of Katie Simpson in 2020 highlighted the important role for hospital staff in looking out for women who may be victims of domestic abuse. Since her death, Women’s Aid specialists now based in some of our hospitals have helped hundreds of women to escape from their abusers. Kathryn Torney reports.

Sarah Coates from Women’s Aid at Antrim Area Hospital © Peter Morrison

Katie Simpson from County Armagh was just 21-years-old when she died six days after being admitted to hospital.

Her death was initially treated as suicide but eventually her sister’s boyfriend – Jonathan Creswell – was charged with her murder. He took his own life one day after his murder trial began in 2024.

An independent review into Katie’s death was published in May 2026. It examined 16 hospital visits by Katie between 2003 and 2020, prior to the incident which resulted in her death.

The review noted that she attended the accident and emergency department in the Southern Trust area for a range of injuries between 2003 and 2015, the Royal Victoria Hospital in 2017 after breaking her back aged 18, and she also visited A&E in the Western Trust area from 2016 to 2020.

Katie was often accompanied by Creswell and told staff her injuries were caused by horse-related accidents.

The Katie Simpson Review stated that her injury pattern revealed a concerning recurrence of harm over time which is often an indicator of physical abuse. It also found that her A&E attendances represented a potential opportunity for professionals to identify risk and make a safeguarding or MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) referral; she was not referred to either.

Four years after Katie’s last visit to an A&E in the Southern Trust area, a Domestic Abuse Safety and Support (DASS) specialist from Women’s Aid Armagh Down began working across Daisy Hill Hospital, Craigavon Area Hospital and South Tyrone Minor Injuries Unit.

The pilot scheme was set up in response to the high volume of domestic abuse cases the hospital social work team had been dealing with.

This came too late for Katie.

Over the six years since, 646 women aged between 16 and 96-years-old have been supported and 4,197 frontline health and social care team staff have received domestic abuse training including doctors, nurses, janitors, porters, triage staff, social workers, chaplains and interpreters. Police officers have also been trained which has enabled some officers to arrange a conversation with Women’s Aid before women they are accompanying to hospital after a domestic abuse incident have even arrived there.

If a domestic abuse specialist had been in place when Katie was being treated in A&E departments, there is a chance this specialist – or a member of hospital staff they trained – could have intervened and saved her life.

Earlier this year, a Women’s Aid specialist also started working in Antrim Hospital within the Northern Trust.

Hospital staff in these two trust areas are now being trained by Women’s Aid, encouraged to be professionally curious and to create safe spaces for important conversations with patients. Cases identified are handed over to the domestic abuse specialists to offer immediate, sometimes lifesaving, support. This also opens the door to further support from the wider Women’s Aid team.

The Katie Simpson Review said expanding this model across all health trusts should be considered.

The Women’s Aid specialist currently working in the Southern Trust hospitals is Aoife Anderson. She said the DASS service’s strength lies in the backing it has from Women’s Aid and that they can meet women where they are at when they need it.

Women’s Aid specialist Aoife Anderson © Peter Morrison

Aoife said:

“Women should be asked at every point of care within maternity services and in emergency departments, are you okay? Do you feel safe to go home? I think some people have been afraid to ask the question because they don’t know what to do when they get the response.

“That’s why it’s really beneficial to have face-to-face training sessions with staff and to be present on the wards. People may have opinions or stereotypical beliefs about what a domestic abuse victim or survivor looks like, so we offer a safe space to air those things out and talk about them.

“We present real life case examples to hospital staff and tell them what to expect and how to approach it. We want them to feel confident to have conversations about domestic and sexual abuse and for there to be a seamless transition from the nurse, doctor or midwife women they have made their disclosure to through to us, allowing the doctor or nurse to focus on their medical needs.

“I can then sit with a woman while she makes a statement to police, or I can arrange for referrals or other support which might involve her going into one of our refuges if she feels ready to leave or accessing Women’s Aid services in the community.”

Sarah Coates managed a Women’s Aid refuge before taking on the same specialist role within Antrim Hospital. She describes her position within the social work team as “essential”.

“There are hundreds of Katies out there still presenting to emergency departments and this service is the opportunity for someone to offer support that can be life changing. We have seen that it can be a matter of life or death.”

“It’s easier to identify physical abuse but staff are also trained to watch body language and look out for coercive control. If something doesn’t look right, they should find a safe space and ask if they can help.

“One woman came in with her husband as he had cut his finger. A nurse took the woman to the side to ask if she was okay and she broke down and started to cry. She said he had tried to suffocate her and during the struggle had cut his finger. The nurse said they could keep her safe and the police were called.

“Another woman I have supported was in her 80s and was being abused by her son. I supported another lady who was being treated on a ward for three weeks for a burn injury to make sure she was safe when she left hospital.”

Gillian Robinson, CEO of Women’s Aid ABCLN (Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey), said: "The Katie Simpson Review is a painful reminder that what can be seen as plausible explanations for injuries often mask a terrifying reality of coercive control.

"We need a regional, mandated roll-out of this specialist service in hospitals to ensure that the red flags of coercive control, violence and abuse are never missed again.”

Helen Cranney, Deputy CEO at Women's Aid Armagh Down, said:

“There should be a domestic abuse specialist in every single hospital in Northern Ireland. This short-term, immediate support works because it sits within the beating heart of Women’s Aid and is integrated within the hospital system.”

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt was asked if he intends to extend the Domestic Abuse Safety and Support programme to have domestic abuse specialists in place in all hospitals and, if not, whether this leaves women at risk of further abuse.

The Minister said:

“I am aware of the Women’s Aid workers currently based in the Southern and Northern Trust areas. I recognise the value of these workers and understand that there will be an evaluation of the Northern Trust pilot.

“Enhancing support for all victims of Domestic Abuse remains a priority, and my department will continue to work to improve the consistency of domestic abuse responses. This includes exploring how best to build on existing successful approaches in a way that is evidence based, sustainable and aligned with the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy.”

He said that health trusts are implementing actions to improve practice and strengthen safeguarding arrangements, including enhanced training on domestic abuse and targeted provision for emergency department staff.

The Northern Ireland Executive recently launched its second two-year Delivery Plan for its Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

Journalist Kathryn Torney

Belfast Telegraph 10th July 2026

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/there-are-hundreds-of-katie-simpsons-out-there-still-presenting-to-ni-emergency-departments

Case study

I was badly assaulted by my ex-partner and hospitalised for almost six days with substantial injuries. I received medical treatment for my injuries but was otherwise left completely on my own.

I felt completely overwhelmed, frightened, and honestly unable to see a way out of the situation I was in. My two young children were at home being cared for by my mother while I was in hospital, and I wasn’t even allowed to see them. I felt isolated and helpless.

Thankfully, I still had a contact number for Women’s Aid from a previous domestic violence situation several years ago. I texted the number, and by pure luck the same woman was still working there. From that moment onwards, everything changed.

Women’s Aid’s domestic abuse specialist came to see me in hospital within minutes after contacting her. She brought me clean clothes, but more importantly, she brought me reassurance, compassion and hope at a time when I genuinely felt broken and alone.

In an incredibly short space of time, Sarah helped me regain a sense of control over my life. She helped arrange support for my children and my situation at home, explained processes I knew nothing about, supported me with police statements and victim support, and helped me find a solicitor experienced in exactly the kind of situation I was facing. Suddenly, what had felt impossible and terrifying became something manageable.

The difference Women’s Aid made to me during those few days cannot be put into words properly. They treated me like a person, not just a patient. They made me feel heard, supported, protected and believed.

At one of the darkest times of my life, they made me feel like there was light at the end of the tunnel. I genuinely do not know what I would have done without Women’s Aid. The support they provided changed everything for me and my children, and I will always be grateful for that.