Key figures in hospital death scandal refuse to comment

MEDICAL staff named in the inquiry into more than 650 deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital remained silent last night as questions mounted over their roles in the scandal.

When contacted by The Daily Telegraph, doctors and nurses named in the damning independent report refused to comment on the suggestion that “institutionalised” prescribing practices at the hospital had cut short the lives of hundreds of elderly patients.

Dr Jane Barton, the clinical assistant who the report said was responsible for the policies, and her husband, Timothy Barton, a retired naval commodore, had left their £700,000 home in Hampshire by time the report was released on Wednesday. Neighbours suggested the couple had gone to Menorca.

The report found the nurses who raised concerns were told in 1991 by senior management to address their issues to Dr Barton herself, or to Gillian Hamblin, a senior sister, or to Dr Robert Logan, a consultant geriatrician.

Dr Logan and Ms Hamblin both chose to remain silent last night. Jean Dalton, a pharmacist named in the report as one who reviewed drug charts and stock, also chose not to comment.

Staff nurse Philip Beed, named as being “responsible for the administration of these drugs” in many cases, also refused to comment.

When contacted for comment, Robert Barton, Dr Barton’s brother-in-law, said: “I have got absolutely nothing to say to you lot. I have never seen so much rubbish published in my whole life.”