Gosport War Memorial Hospital patient deaths inquiry ‘buried evidence’

Whitehall investigators have launched an inquiry into allegations of serious misconduct during the official review of the Gosport hospital scandal. They are examining claims that civil servants working on the £13m inquiry bullied staff, buried evidence and went on taxpayer-funded “working retreats” to Spain.

An independent panel last year linked Dr Jane Barton to the premature deaths of up to 656 elderly people given opiate overdoses at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1989 and 2000.

Whistleblowers have alleged that the panel ignored concerns about the hospital’s culture and use of faulty medical equipment to deliver a “clean hit” and “draw a line under it all”.

The Department of Health said last night: “We take all and any allegations of wrongdoing very seriously. An investigation is being undertaken and it would be inappropriate to comment further until it is concluded.”

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Source: The Sunday Times, 11 August 2019