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A Continuing Risk to Patients, Yet Gosport Doctor Allowed to Practise

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A Continuing Risk to Patients, Yet Gosport Doctor Allowed to Practise FAM002289-0001 t 3 ¯ , Page l of 6 ’~-~:i!:I i 7~,~([(iz/1o S~’pterTtb~’r 2(~’,S r---’] ¯ .i L__J . Z E [] ¯ NEWS VOICES SPORT TECH LiFE PROPERTY ARTS&ENTS TRAVEL MONEY INDYBES [] Fashion Food &’m-’<v ~eaith.9 = ~< Histcrv Gadgets & Tesh Mo’cr!n:~ D~,,,,,-.j~+;rlm Crosswords Gaming { 1:3 Life > Health & Families > Health News A~ A continuing risk to patients, yet Gosport doctor I ra allowed to practise ! [] R Outraged t:amilies will ask the High Court to rule on the General Medical tl~ [] Council’s refusal to strike off Dr Jane Barton Ji r"l A r-I fi~ Shares: 3 PR~x[ AAA FI [ N~ in pietun~ is The General Medical Council’s decision to allow a I ReeLed arUcJ~ D doctor found guilty of serious professional Two-thirds of nurses are Ol mi.qconduct to continue to practise is likely to be ’too busy to talk to g~ challenged. A health watchdog, prompted by anger patients’ ’If among the relatives of m of the doctor’s patients ’Trapped in mediocrity’: The damning verdict on A who died while under her care in the infamous the NHS as report reveals B Gosport War Memorial Hospital case, is now 14 hospitals had higher than expected mortality G expected to take the matter to the High Court. J t~&Sty~ rates w Nurse and midwife total The saga of Dr Jane Barton, found guilty of multiple falls by 6,000 I counts of misconduct last week, has outraged Male nurse held in poison l relatives, MPs, lawyers and patients groups alike. probe at hospital after notes ’changed’ Several medical experts described the decision not Stafford Hospital carer to strike her off as "illogical and inconsistent". accused of dragging 73- year-old by collar The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence is examining transcripts from the hearing, which began last June. The GMC’s imposition of 11 Ads by Googte sanctions on Dr Barton did little to curb the widespread concern. Compare Gas & Electricity i= The GMC’s five-parson panel said: "There have been Compare all energy tariffs I instances when Dr Barton’s acts and omissions have in the market, switch suppliers & save! put patients at increased risk of premature death... www.uSwitch.com/Energy the panel was unable to accept that she no longer posed any risk to patients." However, the panel New Trick in the U.K. Exposed: Receive an decided that she had proven her safety in the past m £80,000 life insurance years during which she continued worldng as a GP policy as low as £51mo.? TheFinanceAuthority.com http~//www~independent.c~~uk/~ife-sty~e/hea~th-and-fami~ies/hea~th-news/a-c~ntinuing~~~ 10/09/2013 FAMO02289-O002 Page 2 of 6 . , A quarter of all while several police investigations, an inquest and The Best Growth Stock homes sold to first NHS report were carried (all ......... You can Buy Right Now Register for a free stock time buyers Relatives of the deceased were particularly angry at report ! www.fatprophets.co.uk/ the credence given to the 187 testimonials gathered from some of her patients and colleagues, which led Suggested Topics the panel to conclude that "preserving Dr Barton’s i services as a GP is in the public interest". NHS She prescn2~i high doses of powerful drugs Healthcare delivered through an intra-mnscular syringe driver Police without properly assessing or investigating the Punishment patients. The panel concluded that she showed a A balcony in London "worrying lack of insight". Dr Barton worked as a part-time clinical assistant at could add 20% to the the community hospital between 1989 and 2oo0. I property’s price I Few of the 92 families who complained to Hampshire Police and triggered a massive investigation were permitted to give an opinion at the hearing. These families pointed out that the Shipman inquiry, into the deaths of elderly patients at the hands of their GP Harold Shipman, found that he too had been popular with his victims and their families. Many of the lo8 recommendations made in 2oo5 by Lady Janet Smith to tighten the system to prevent other murders have still to be fully implementecL A senior medical legal source admitted last night it is "universally accepted" that the Are home-grown current system of death certification and regulation "is a mess" and would not buyers regaining the prevent another Shipman. confidence to enter Ten years after the conviction of Shipman, the eminent toxicologist involved in the property his prosecution warns that a similarly murderous doctor could still escape market? detection for years. Robert Forrest, professor of forensic chemLgtry at Sheffield University and one of Britain’s foremost experts on murders committed by healthcare professionals, Don’t miss has told The Independent on Sunday that a "Dr Shipman who is careful and who used drugs not readily available could probably still get away with it for a out on the considerable length of time." best prizes He added: "Dr Barton and others who have sailed close to the harsh wind of the mm I 6e~ =ur wee~ law of homicide no doubt have had in mind the nile of dual-effect that gives a mmpetitims a nd 0ffers ernail roBKl-up doctor an exemption from the general law of murder. This, in effect, gives a practitioner the option to prescribe what they know to be life-shortening doses of pain and anxiety-relieving medicines ff their primary intention is not to shorten life, even if they know that is likely. To deliberately prescribe such doses with the intention of ending life is, of course, murder, provided the CPS prosecutes and a jury convicts. "The cases of [nurse] Beverley Allitt and Harold Shipman have removed any vestiges of disbelief investigators may have had that doctors and nurses can deliberately kill patients in large numbers and get away with it for, sometimes, many years." The IoS has learnt that the Nursing Midwifery Council is likely to face an unprecedented second investigation in the space of two years amid allegations of failing properly to investigate the nurses who worked with Dr Barton. The new am chief executive last night promised to start investigations immediately, but it is http~//www~independem~c~~uk~~ife~sty~~lhea~th~and-farr~~ies~h~a~th-news~a-c~ntinuing... 10109/2013 FAM002289-0003 ¯ A ¢ontimdng risk to patients, yet Gosport doctor allowed to practise - Health News - ... Page 3 of 5 outcome being that the patient died. "I’ae drug wa.s alwa~ being admin~ via ’syringe drivers’. R is fair to say that this member of slaffwas speaking on OAY IN A PAt~= behalf of a group of her colleagnes." Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat ¯ 10 - 2013 . ! Qo i In z999 Hampsbh~ Police asked Professor lkian lJvestey, an e~pett e~ medical care for the elderly, to look into the death of 9z-year-old Gladys Richards in z998. He onduded: "Doctor Jane Barton p~the drugs diamm’phin~ ~ mids~hm and hyoscine for Mrs G]adys Richards in a m~nm’r as to ~tuse her death. tWUlr/TI’4RFR . "Mr PhffiJp James Beed, Ms Margaret Cotwhman and Ms Christine Joice were atso knowingly reslmns~ f~ the a,~i-i~tration of these dru~ [~ ~I~-I I I/| ;;I ::II I~ I Z, I =II "As a r~mdt of beiz~ ~m these dross, Mrs Richards ~ras ualawfufly lotted." I A meeting took ]~e I~we~a senior ponce o~s, t]~ ClJS, "13~asm~ (~uasd r&~l&r. FC~-NT~tE . 1; ,., ¯ and Pmfes~ Li~-y. Duzing that ~ 1~=~- Cou=d came to the view that his assertions w~ "flawed in respect of his analysis of the law’. In August 2ooz the CPS advised that there was iusutfick~ evidenee for a successful pmsecmio~ t~xn first m to a v~lict 1991 flight ~ nurses raise concerns with the Royal College of Numing about n~ of elderly pati~ giv~ diam~ at Gospoa. The matter is dealt with io~_mah’y at t~ ~ ho~p~aL Angast z998 G~an ~ reports the death of her mother, G~lys ~ to ~-,~4me l’oliee, whi=h la--,~ an ~ Two eomg~i,ns are ut~d by the Potiee ~ ~=mt~. No d~ges are brought z999 ~ police ~ti~a is ~ into five deaths. Dr Jane Barton is imerviewe~ No charges. Aim3 ~ooo Dr Barton leaves the ~ lint continues as a GP. She agrees to stop ~ opiates meh as ~ She says she raised concerns about her hgh workload. July =oo9 The Corn/for Health Inspection finds ~-stem~ failings in the mordtorin~ and pr~on’hin~ of medication for eklm’iy patk~ts ~t GosporL TI~ NHS Trust doesn~ iss~ an admn plan ram] November. September ~oe~ The el~ medical offa~ orders an ~ audit into the death~ Trds repeet has mve~ been made publ~ ^ nm~ reveals omplaims dating bac~ to 1()9l. PO~ begin all Jll~S[~tk)~ ilitO 02 deaths atthe h(}~. Odaiber gmo70rown Pmsecutimt Service condudes there is insufflciem evidence to pmsecme any health i~ Police reports are passed to the Portsmouth ~, Umv~l ~, in early 2oo8. His call for a imblic im:luiry is dismissed by the Govemm~L ]~aldl ~OO9 Illquests into io d~ati~ begi~ A jury deck]~ that in the ~ses o[ Rohm Wilsoa. 74. Geolhx,y Paelk~an, 66, and IiIsa Devim, 88, the use of paink~ers had been ~ f~r their eeedifim~ In two ether mse~ Artha" Cunnin~J~,,,, 79, and, IiIsie ~, 83, the medi~_ t~on doses o=Rn’buted to their deaths.
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