Families told of investigation over hundreds of deaths at hospital

A fresh criminal investigation into the Gosport hospital scandal – where hundreds of patients died over 14 years after being given powerful painkillers – has been launched.

The care provided to patients who died at the Hampshire hospital between 1987 and 2001 will be the focus of a full police investigation, Kent Police said in a statement issued yesterday.

Families were told of the decision at a meeting in Fareham shortly before the announcement was made.

More than 450 people had their lives shortened at the Hampshire hospital. Another 200 were “probably” similarly given opioids between 1989 and 2000 without medical justification, according to the Gosport Independent Panel report released last year.

Ian Sandford, whose mother Hazel Felicity Sandford died at the hospital, attended the meeting and welcomed the latest investigation.

He said he was “very glad” Kent Police were taking on the investigation, but had reservations about how thorough any fresh inquiry could be because of the time that had passed since the deaths. Mr Sandford said: “They should have sorted this out a long time ago.”

In July, the head of serious crime at Kent and Essex Police announced a review of the evidence that had emerged from the report.

A team lead by Assistant Chief Constable Nick Downing has been assessing the panel’s findings to establish if there is sufficient new evidence to support a further police investigation.

Last year’s findings claimed “there was a disregard for human life and a culture of shortening lives of a large number of patients” at the hospital.

Relatives of some of those who died at the hospital have campaigned for prosecutions to be brought over the deaths.