'We won't stop until we get justice'
RELATIVES today vowed to continue their quest for justice after the doctor they blame for patient deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital was allowed to continue practising.
GP Jane Barton was found guilty of 'multiple instances of serious professional misconduct' relating to 12 patients who died at the Bury Road hospital.
But a panel ruled she should not be struck off the medical register - despite saying she could still pose a risk to patients.
In an unprecedented move, the General Medical Council - which appointed the five-strong independent panel - will now review the decision.
It said Dr Barton, who is a partner at the Forton Medical Centre, Gosport, should have been struck off.
The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence will also review the ruling and decide whether to refer it to the High Court.
Yesterday's decision angered relatives of patients who died on the Dryad and Daedalus wards between 1996 and 1999 when Dr Barton was clinical assistant.
Iain Wilson, whose 74-year-old dad, Brian, died on Dryad ward in October 1998, said: 'How can they say they are protecting the public and maintaining public confidence when she's been allowed to keep on practising?
'I'm so gutted for my dad. He deserves justice and I won't stop until I get it.'
The panel said it was 'unable to accept that she no longer posed any risk to patients'.
It ruled some of her prescriptions of powerful drugs were 'excessive' as well as being 'inappropriate, potentially hazardous and not in patients' best interests'.
Drug dose ranges were also too wide and meant patients could be over-medicated.
But after a 10-week hearing and a week of deliberations, the five-strong panel decided that placing 11 conditions on the GP's licence for three years was an adequate sanction.
These include a ban on prescribing or administering opiates by injection and undertaking palliative care.
Chaos erupted when the decision was announced at the General Medical Council in Euston Road, London.
Some relatives burst into tears and others branded the hearing a cover-up before storming out.
Reading the decision, secretary Andrew Reid said the panel was 'greatly impressed' by 184 testimonials from patients and colleagues presented in Dr Barton's defence.
He said: 'There had been a gap of 10 years between the events in question and the date of this hearing. During that period Dr Barton had continued in safe practice as a GP in the community.'
But in a statement, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, expressed surprise that Dr Barton was not struck off.
He said: 'Our view was the doctor's name should have been erased from the medical register following the panel's finding of serious professional misconduct.
'We will be carefully reviewing the decision before deciding what further action, if any, may be necessary.'
Now, furious families say they will not stop until their calls for a public inquiry – backed by Lib Dem shadow health secretary Norman Lamb – are granted and a fresh police investigation is launched.
Ann Reeves, whose 88-year-old mother Elsie Devine died on Dryad ward in November 1999, flew from Malaysia to hear the decision.
She said: 'It's an absolute total disgrace. What does the GMC stand for? Gross Medical Cover-up and nothing more.'
She added: 'Doctors have been struck off for much less. We will fight for that public inquiry.
'We need to prevent this from ever happening again.
'We want to ensure that any doctor who decides to put a patient on a terminal care pathway cannot do so without the consent of the patient or their next of kin.'
Mrs Devine's granddaughter Bridget Reeves added: 'There will never be justice for my grandmother because the way she died can never be changed, but I want justice for everyone else who ends up in a hospital with a doctor like Jane Barton.'
John White from solicitors Blake Lapthorn, representing some of the families, said he was 'absolutely sickened' by the decision.
'It think they have got it completely wrong,' he said.
'There was overwhelming evidence and a good reason to strike (Dr Barton] off.'
A spokesman for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence said: 'We have the power to refer the case to the High Court if we consider the decision by the panel to be unduly lenient.'
The patients who died at the hospital were: Geoffrey Packman, 67, Elsie Lavender, 83, Eva Page, 87, Alice Wilkie, 81, Robert Wilson, 74, Elsie Devine, 88, Jean Stevens, 73, Enid Spurgeon, 92, Gladys Richards, 91, Ruby Lake, 84, Leslie Pittock, 82, and Arthur Cunningham, 79.
He said: ‘Our view was the doctor's name should have been erased from the medical register following the panel's finding of serious professional misconduct.
‘We will be carefully reviewing the decision before deciding what further action, if any, may be necessary.'
Now, furious families say they will not stop until their calls for a public inquiry - backed by Lib Dem shadow health secretary Norman Lamb - are granted and a fresh police investigation is launched.
Ann Reeves, whose 88-year-old mother Elsie Devine died on Dryad ward in November 1999, flew from Malaysia to hear the decision.
She said: ‘It's an absolute total disgrace. What does the GMC stand for? Gross Medical Cover-up and nothing more.'
She added: ‘Doctors have been struck off for much less. We will fight for that public inquiry.
‘We need to prevent this from ever happening again.
‘We want to ensure that any doctor who decides to put a patient on a terminal care pathway cannot do so without the consent of the patient or their next of kin.'
Mrs Devine's granddaughter Bridget Reeves added: ‘There will never be justice for my grandmother because the way she died can never be changed, but I want justice for everyone else who ends up in a hospital with a doctor like Jane Barton.'
John White from solicitors Blake Lapthorn, representing some of the families, said he was ‘absolutely sickened' by the decision.
‘It think they have got it completely wrong,' he said.
‘There was overwhelming evidence and a good reason to strike [Dr Barton] off.'
A spokesman for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence said: ‘We have the power to refer the case to the High Court if we consider the decision by the panel to be unduly lenient.'
The patients who died at the hospital were: Geoffrey Packman, 67, Elsie Lavender, 83, Eva Page, 87, Alice Wilkie, 81, Robert Wilson, 74, Elsie Devine, 88, Jean Stevens, 73, Enid Spurgeon, 92, Gladys Richards, 91, Ruby Lake, 84, Leslie Pittock, 82, and Arthur Cunningham, 79.
‘We won't stop until we get justice'
It is an absolute disgrace
Daughter, Ann Reeves
GP prescribed ‘excessive' drug doses but is not struck off
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
