Police Identify 24 Suspects in Connection with Hundreds of Deaths at UK Hospital

[Social Media]

 

Police have named 24 suspects in connection with hundreds of deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, where patients were allegedly administered opiates inappropriately over a span of years. This development marks a crucial turning point in a case that has long haunted families seeking justice.

BREAKING: 24 suspects have been identified in an investigation into the deaths at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital, according to Kent Police.https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3

📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/eK98BqHsGt

— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 10, 2024

 

An earlier independent panel investigation revealed that 456 patients had died between 1987 and 2001 as a result of being given opiates without proper medical justification. Now, Kent Police, leading a new investigation named Operation Magenta, has begun to share files with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider potential charges. 

 

Families of the deceased have been informed about the progress, though the slow pace of justice has left many frustrated. Emma Jones, a representative for some of the affected families from Leigh Day Solicitors, expressed her clients’ disappointment at the drawn-out investigation process.

 

She noted that although the news was a small step forward, it was "small comfort" to those who had already waited years for answers. "They have already waited many years for answers into the deaths of their loved ones, and progress in this investigation does not appear to have been fast," Jones said. She also urged the authorities to complete their work without delay, emphasizing the need for inquests to be reopened as soon as possible.

 

 

The scope of the investigation is staggering. Deputy Chief Constable Neil Jerome of Kent Police described it as "one of the largest and most complex of its nature in the history of UK policing." Operation Magenta, following three previous investigations by Hampshire Constabulary that resulted in no prosecutions, is now focusing on 21 individuals under suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, and three others linked to potential health and safety violations. 

 

 

Jerome stressed that the final decision regarding criminal charges rests with the CPS, as no arrests have been made at this stage. However, interviews under caution have already been conducted. The investigation team has delved into over three million pages of documents, including the medical records of more than 750 patients, while also collecting around 1,200 witness statements from family members.

 

The report from 2018 painted a grim picture of what had transpired at Gosport War Memorial Hospital. It concluded that there had been a "disregard for human life" affecting numerous patients, particularly between 1989 and 2000. The report also highlighted an "institutionalised regime" of prescribing and administering "dangerous" levels of medication, often without any clinical justification. 

 

Dr. Jane Barton, the physician who oversaw the prescribing practices at the time, faced disciplinary action for her role in the tragedy. She was found guilty of failures in the care of 12 patients between 1996 and 1999. However, despite these findings, Dr. Barton was not struck off the medical register, and she chose to retire rather than continue her medical practice after the investigation concluded. In her 2018 statement, she defended her actions, stating that she was a "hard-working doctor" doing her best in a "very inadequately resourced" NHS environment.

 

As the families push for a judge-led "Hillsborough-style" inquiry into the deaths, they are hoping this will finally bring the answers they have long sought. Jones reiterated this call, saying that such an inquiry would help the families "find the answers they deserve as efficiently as possible."

 

For now, the families and the public await the CPS's decision on whether criminal charges will be brought, hoping that the next phase of the investigation will offer long-overdue accountability and closure.

 

Based on a report from BBC | X 2024-10-11

 

 

 

[scubascuba3]

Forcing people to stay alive as long as possible with all sorts or awful conditions is pure evil

[wombat]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Forcing people to stay alive as long as possible with all sorts or awful conditions is pure evil

My thoughts exactly.

We have more compassion for our pets than humans.

[herfiehandbag]

This is all supposed to have happened 23 years ago. A doctor was investigated, but although the investigation was critical she was neither "struck off" nor prosecuted. These 21 suspects were presumably of interest to the police at the time; but again were never prosecuted. Again presumably there was not the evidence to prosecute. I very much doubt that witness statements so many years later will provide that evidence.

[john donson]

do they not dare to say the same happened during covid, in the same UK, with elderly people giving opiates to end their lives ?

 

better add a link before someone shouts conspiracy

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8894836/

 

[newbee2022]

Thanks to the marvelous NHS system those incidents can happen unfortunately 

[radiochaser]

3 hours ago, Foxx said:

 

You clearly know nothing about the UK's National Health Service.  "The people" (as you put it) are on a fixed salary.  They make nothing extra from prescribing "these awful drugs".

That said, "these awful drugs" are a godsend to those in extreme pain.

My dad died from cancer.   He was prescribed morphine for the pain.   

[Rimmer]

Troll post and a reply has been removed

[xylophone]

2 hours ago, radiochaser said:

My dad died from cancer.   He was prescribed morphine for the pain.   

As was my father in the UK, however it was pitiful to watch him suffering from incurable cancer which had spread to his bones because he was in extreme pain, couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't eat and would just sit in a wheelchair with his head lolling to one side.

 

It was a blessed relief when he passed away, looking about the same size as a Belsen inmate, and I would have gladly signed a document to help him end his time here on earth.

[RayC]

5 hours ago, john donson said:

do they not dare to say the same happened during covid, in the same UK, with elderly people giving opiates to end their lives ?

 

better add a link before someone shouts conspiracy

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8894836/

 

 

It's an interesting article but the study relates to hospitals in Belgium and says nothing about the UK.

[simple1]

From the OP:

 

"An earlier independent panel investigation revealed that 456 patients had died between 1987 and 2001 as a result of being given opiates without proper medical justification".

 

So it's either murder or unlawful euthanasia of approx 40 patients per annum over the period of the investigation. There has been some terrible mass murder of patients in the UK. One hopes HMG can finally put in place monitoring / reporting protocols to put a stop to this evil.

 

I do support lawful  euthanasia to stop unnecessary suffering.