GP is suspended as police probe sudden deaths of 2 cousins
Surgery shut down after total of 4 patients die
THE unexpected deaths of two members of a family are at the centre of a criminal probe into their GP.
Detectives raided Dr Rory Lyons’ private health centre and medical officials have suspended the 62-year-old from treating patients.
Cousins Karen and Colin Cosheril were patients of the Alderney family doctor when they died. Islanders claim the death from pneumonia of Karen, 52, in January prompted the investigation, which then uncovered three more deaths of concern – including that of retired stonemason Colin, 63, who died of heart failure in May.
Mr Cosheril’s sister – ambulance technician Brenda Webb – said she complained to Guernsey’s health service after his sudden death. The mother- of-two, 61, said: ‘His death was very sudden. It was a shock. My brother was getting well one day and the next day he went downhill too quickly – the day after that he was dead.’
A family friend of divorcee Karen Cosheril,
‘Action to protect the public’
who used to work at the island’s Chinese takeaway, said: ‘Just before she died there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. Then she phoned me and said she was in hospital. The next day I got a call saying she had died from pneumonia and I thought, “That is sudden isn’t it?” It was strange because that usually takes time.’
A family member said of Miss Cosheril, who was also known by her married name of Tayleur, said: ‘Her death is one of those being investigated. We were in complete shock when we heard.’
More than ten Guernsey police officers flew to the island to search Dr Lyons’ Eagle Medical Practice last Thursday.
The surgery remained shut over the Easter weekend. A note referring patients to the other island practice was pinned to the door and signed by Dr Lyons, who also worked at the island’s care home.
The father-of-two lives in Alderney with his wife. The blinds of their home were shut over the weekend but he was spotted at a flat close to the surgery in the town of St Anne’s. He has not responded to requests for com- ment. Medical records and other documents were seen being taken from his surgery during the five-hour police search. A search warrant was also executed at a private address.
A spokesman for Guernsey’s Health and Social Services Department said the investigation was launched when concerns were raised about a death earlier in the year. The police were then informed after an internal investigation identified the three other potentially suspicious deaths. All four patients died in the past 18 months.
Family liaison officers have also been sent to the island to help relatives of the deceased.
Guernsey Chief of Police Patrick Rice said: ‘This decisive early action was necessary to ensure the protection of the public. The community will be understandably concerned by news of this investigation. It will be complex and take time to establish the full facts.’
Dr Lyons was suspended by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service following a hearing on Thursday. Before moving to the island, he worked and lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was a part-time GP.
Alderney – which has fewer than 2,000 inhabitants and is just three miles long – has two medical practices, with four GPs, and a 20-bed hospital where GPs treat their own patients. All services are run privately outside the NHS.