Police launch new investigation into Gosport hospital deaths

A new criminal inquiry is to take place into the deaths of hundreds of Gosport War Memorial Hospital patients, who were given ‘dangerous’ levels of opiate drugs between 1989 and 2000.

Relatives of the 456 patients who died were told at a recent meeting that a ‘full investigation’ would begin shortly and that statements would be collected from them on their relatives’ experiences at the hospital.

Nick Downing, Assistant Chief Constable, said that he hoped the investigation would be ‘some comfort’ to the relatives, adding “This investigation is not about numbers, it is about people – specifically those who died at the hospital and the loved ones they have left behind.

“This is a highly complex and emotive case that some family members have been living with for more than 30 years, and I would like to thank them for their continuing patients and understanding during this process.”

A report by The Gosport Independent Review Panel, which was published in June 2018, found that there was a ‘disregard for human life’ and an ‘institutionalised regime’ of prescribing and administering amounts of opiate medication that were not clinically justified. The report added that the quality of previous investigations by the police had been ‘consistently poor’.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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