The Shipman Inquiry: Was it worth it? [Part 1] by Lady Justice Janet Smith

TL;DR

In this talk, the speaker discusses their role as the chair of the inquiry into Harold Shipman, examining the systems of control and monitoring that failed and how they conducted a major factual investigation into the suspicious deaths.

Transcript

um thank you for inviting me um thank you gretchen college for inviting me and in particular for making up a panel that otherwise consists of three lords of looping i called my talk um shipment inquiry was it worth it because i was being pressed to think of a title and i hadn't really thought at that time about what i was going to say but in the en... Read More

Key Insights

• 🎮 The Shipment Inquiry focused on examining the systems of control and monitoring that failed to prevent Harold Shipman's murders.
• 👪 The speaker chose to conduct a major factual investigation to provide answers to the families affected by Shipman's actions.
• 🤨 The investigation identified 218 deaths where Shipman was involved and raised suspicions in approximately 60 other cases.
• 🤨 The speaker's decision to investigate all suspicious deaths doubled the length and cost of the inquiry, but they believed it was the right thing to do.
• 😤 The inquiry involved a team of part-time solicitors and paralegals who examined the circumstances of each patient's death and provided individual reports.
• ✊ The speaker had full powers under the Tribunals and Inquiries Act of 1921, which was deemed appropriate for the investigation.
• 🤗 The terms of reference for the inquiry initially seemed confusing, but the speaker was able to recast them and leave open the option of a full investigation.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the speaker's role in the Shipment Inquiry?

The speaker was appointed as the chair of the inquiry, responsible for examining the systems of control and monitoring that failed to prevent Harold Shipman's murders.

Q: Why did the speaker choose to conduct a major factual investigation?

The speaker believed it was necessary to investigate all suspicious deaths and provide answers to the families affected, even if it extended the length and cost of the inquiry.

Q: How many deaths did the speaker identify where Shipman was involved?

The speaker identified 218 deaths where they were confident that Shipman had killed the patient, and approximately 60 more cases where suspicions were raised but lacked sufficient evidence for a positive conclusion.

Q: What did the speaker's investigation involve?

The investigation involved examining 500 cases in depth, writing individual reports on each death, analyzing medical history, Shipman's actions, and reaching conclusions on his involvement.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker was appointed as the chair of the Shipment Inquiry, tasked with examining the systems that failed to prevent Harold Shipman from murdering his patients.

• They decided to conduct a major factual investigation, which doubled the length and cost of the inquiry.

• The investigation involved examining the circumstances of each patient's death and reaching conclusions on Shipman's involvement.