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He said any further investigations should be carried out by organisations not involved in previous probes, suggesting that Hampshire Police should bring in another force.
The panel found that, over a 12-year period as clinical assistant, Dr Jane Barton was “responsible for the practice of prescribing which prevailed on the wards”.
Family members of people who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital stand outside Portsmouth Cathedral, south England, after the disclosure of the Gosport Independent Panel’s report.
Photo: PA
But Hunt questioned whether there had been an “institutional desire” to blame the events on a “rogue doctor” to protect reputations rather than address systemic failings.
The panel said the case of GP Harold Shipman, who was jailed in 2000 for murdering 15 patients, had “cast a long shadow” over events at the hospital.
The perception that Dr Barton might be a “lone wolf” operating alone “rapidly took root”, the report said.
Police did not pursue a “wider investigation” into what was going on at the hospital and instead focused on the actions of Dr Barton.
The inquiry, led by the former bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend James Jones, did not ascribe criminal or civil liability for the deaths.
Hunt said the report’s findings were “truly shocking”, with whistleblowers and families ignored as they attempted to raise concerns.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Theresa May said: “The events at Gosport Memorial Hospital were tragic, they are deeply troubling and they brought unimaginable heartache to the families concerned.”
Bridget Reeves, the granddaughter of 88-year-old Elsie Devine, said in a statement on behalf of the families: “This has been sinister, calculated and those implicated must now face the rigour of the criminal justice system.
“These horrifying, shameful, unforgivable actions need to be disclosed in a criminal court for a jury to decide and only then can we put our loved ones to rest.”
The Gosport Independent Panel investigation into hundreds of suspicious deaths at the hospital, which was first launched in 2014, examined more than a million pages of documents.
It revealed “there was a disregard for human life and a culture of shortening lives of a large number of patients” at the Hampshire hospital.
In 2010, the GMC ruled that Dr Barton, who has since retired, was guilty of multiple instances of professional misconduct relating to 12 patients who died at the hospital.
Several documents reviewed by the panel referred to the Shipman case.
However, the Rt Rev Jones said events at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital were distinct, because they showed a “failure of the institution”.
Nurses on the ward were not responsible for the practice but did administer the drugs, including via syringe drivers, and failed to challenge prescribing, the panel said.
Consultants, though not directly involved in treating patients on the ward, “were aware” of how drugs were administered but “did not intervene to stop the practice”. Mr Hunt also questioned why consultants or nurses did not act to stop those involved.
PA
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