Latest report pushes 'likely' Shipman victim toll to 250

The sixth report into the murders committed by former GP Harold Shipman has revealed that he murdered at least three patients during his years as a junior doctor, bringing the total toll to a possible 250.

The chairperson of the inquiry, Dame Janet Smith, said that Shipman had "in all probability" unlawfully caused or hastened the deaths of Thomas Cullumbine, John Brewster and James Rhodes while working at the Pontefract General Infirmary between 1970 and 1974.

Dame Janet said the inquiry had examined evidence relating to 137 deaths at the hospital during Shipman's time there, 133 of which Shipman had certified himself. The inquiry found that 68 of the deaths were almost certainly due to natural causes. However, there were 14 more deaths where there was some suspicion of Shipman's involvement and three cases, involving Edith Swift, Butterfield Hammill and Cissie MacFarlane, where his treatment was described as "inappropriate" due to his prescription or administration of "dangerously large" doses of sedatives.

The inquiry concluded that Shipman had "probably" caused the death of between 10-15 patients during his early career, but there was suspicion remaining in about 45 cases where there was insufficient information available to draw a conclusion. This would mean Shipman is likely to have killed 250 people, 218 of which have been identified.

The inquiry found that no further suspicious deaths could be attributed to Shipman at Pontefract hospital after June 1972. This is believed to be because of the death of Phyllis Cooling, which at least one member of the medical staff at the hospital believed was "closely associated" with an injection administered by Shipman. It is believed that Shipman was thought to have been more circumspect after this death.

However, the inquiry did have "serious concerns" about the death of four-year old Susie Garrett, who was seriously ill and died shortly after Shipman suggested to her mother that the administration of drugs was prolonging her suffering.

The sixth inquiry was conducted after a nurse, Sandra Whitehead, who worked with Shipman during his time at the hospital, came forward to voice her suspicions about the number of deaths at the hospital, following Shipman's death in January last year. Concerns had been raised about the death of one patient at Pontefract hospital before the first report was published in July 2002, but it was found to be unconnected with Shipman.

The inquiry uncovered evidence that suggested that Shipman may have been "hastening" the deaths of patients who might have died a few hours later. This was largely due to the abnormal proportions of deaths, which occurred while Shipman was on the wards between 6pm and midnight. Other features that suggested Shipman had behaved unlawfully included failure to report deaths to the coroner that should have been reported and unusual entries in medical records, which were either over-elaborate or very short, or featured several 'crossed out' items.

The inquiry was unable to say how Shipman killed the patients at Pontefract, but stated that one of his motivations may have been a desire to experiment with various drugs. He was reported to have been "fascinated" with drugs and the inquiry suggested that some of the deaths might have been due to "reckless experimentation", rather than a positive intent to kill.

Interviews with some of Shipman's co-workers at Pontefract found that he was regarded as "hard-working, reliable, competent and dedicated", although some people described him as "arrogant and over-confident" and others as "strange, sinister and odd".

The inquiry also investigated claims by a John Harkin, a former inmate at HMP Preston, who claimed that Shipman admitted to him that he had claimed around 508 lives and described these actions as "an act of God".

However, the inquiry stated that it was "completely confident" that he could not have killed that many people.

(KMcA/SP)