Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Fury as ‘Doctor Opiate’ claims: I did my best
No apology as she returns from hols
VICTIMS’ families have blasted the disgraced doctor at the centre of the Gosport hospital deaths scandal for claiming she had done her best.
Dr Jane Barton, who has returned from a week-long holiday, said she “always acted with compassion”, and did not say sorry.
A report last week revealed that around 650 people’s lives were cut short after overdoses of powerful painkillers she prescribed.
Cindy Grant, 44, whose dad Stan Carby, 65, was one of the victims, said: “It’s totally appalling. If doing her best for patients is overprescribing them drugs then I would hate to see her doing her worst.
“I can’t believe she said that. There was no apology to the families or anything. It was shocking.”
Gillian Kimbley, 72, who was married to Gosport victim Robert Wilson who died aged 75, described Dr Barton as “very rude and arrogant”. Gillian added: “I think she owes it to the families to explain what happened.” Dr Barton stood by husband Tim outside their £700,000 home in Gosport as he said yesterday: “She has always maintained she was a hard-working, dedicated doctor, doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the [NHS].”
In a statement Dr Barton – dubbed Dr Opiate – said: “I am unable to make any substantial comment... given my duty of confidence. I can say though that I have always acted with care, concern and compassion towards patients.”
The Gosport Independent Panel’s report said it found “nothing in the documents to indicate [Dr Barton] raised concerns about her workload until she was in the process of being investigated”.
The four-year probe into Gosport War Memorial Hospital found that between 1989 and 2000 there were 456 elderly patients who had their “lives shortened” after overdoses of powerful opioids prescribed by Dr Barton.
It likely that another 200 patients suffered the same fate, the panel concluded.
Former GP Dr Barton was a part-time clinical assistant at the Hampshire hospital and was responsible for all prescriptions on the affected wards.
There are claims there was a cover-up. The report found health chiefs had constantly ignored warnings that patients were dying of drug overdoses. Bereaved families and campaigners are calling for criminal charges.
If that’s her doing her best, I’d hate to see her doing her worst CINDY GRANT WHOSE DAD DIED AT HOSPITAL