We’ll make him comfortable...
Whistleblowers face music
“I’d sooner be put out of my misery. But it’s got to be your choice. I felt for years they just thought Dad should die. When we came back from Mum’s funeral one of the nursing staff said ‘We’ll make your father comfortable like we did your mum’. It’s almost ominous. At the time we thought that was nice. But we were unaware then of what we know now.
“We went to the cremation for Mum and took Dad back to hospital. He seemed all right. Obviously he was upset, but he didn’t deteriorate.”
Ian and wife Pauline, 63, spoke in the wake of an inquiry report into 656 patients feared to have been given lethal doses of painkillers at the Hampshire hospital between 1988 and 2000.
GP Jane Barton, 69 – dubbed Dr Opiate – was in charge of prescribing the medicine.
Ivy was suffering from lung cancer found after a fall, but her family say she was not in pain.
Pauline said: “She never knew she had lung cancer. Ian’s aunt and uncle even took her out of the hospital for tea. She told them ‘I’m in no pain. I feel a bit of a fraud being here’.
“That was the last thing anyone ever spoke to her about. Suddenly she was put on to the driver, fell into a coma and died not long after.”
Ian’s dad had both legs amputated at another hospital after longstanding venous disease – when valves in veins stop functioning. He was transferred to Gosport so he could be with Ivy – just weeks after they renewed their wed- ding vows. But Ivy died within days of former RAF helicopter engineer Jack’s arrival. Barber Ian, from Netley Abbey, Southampton, said there was no reason for Jack to have diamorphine, but they accepted the word of medics. In hindsight, it was clear something was not right. Ian went on: “It was almost common knowledge in the early 1990s and 2000s that you went in but didn’t come out. Everybody seemed to know but nothing was done about it.”
And Pauline recalled visiting Jack in Gosport a few years earlier, while HUNDREDS of NHS whistleblowers reported facing repercussions last year. National Guardian’s Office figures show 356 health workers suffered recriminations after raising concerns on care. Some told of “subtle” persecution, while he was being treated for venous disease. She added: “Jack was in a four bed ward. The next day we visited and the other three beds were empty – they’d died during the night.”
Ian spoke about his shock as inquiry chief Bishop James Jones revealed details of others had career opportunities closed off, or faced unfair dismissal.
Peter Walsh, of Action Against Medical Accidents, said: “We need to provide meaningful protection for staff who try to do the right thing.”
Mr Walsh also blasted the Health Service Safety Investigations Bill, saying it would “prohibit” news of NHS failings being shared. the scandal. Ian said: “It was like a cold shower. How could this have gone on for so long? Even 10 years ago when she (Dr Barton) was investigated and suspended, she wasn’t struck off. What has a doctor or a nurse got to do to be struck off by the GMC?” The inquiry found an “institutionalised practice of shortening lives”. But Ian is unsure if criminal charges would bring comfort. He added: “A lot of people want to see Dr Barton locked up. But would it help?” Has your family been affected? Contact us on 0800 289441 or at feedback@ people. co.uk