|
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 31 July 2005 09:31 | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk
|
|
William Kerr and Michael Haslam, two National Health Service consultants who have sexually assaulted at least 77 of their patients over a 20-year period while officials and doctors repeatedly ignored complaints, a government inquiry has found.
When the victims that were being treated for depression or mental illness tried to report the abuse, they were ignored by their GPs, and managers failed to investigate properly, they also found that a nurse who tried to expose the scandal was demoted.
Nigel Pleming QC, the inquiry’s chairman, concludes that there was no deliberate conspiracy but “health officials chose to remain silent when they should have been raising their voices . . . It is also a story of management failure, failed communication, poor record keeping and a culture where the consultant was all-powerful.”
The £3.2m inquiry followed an investigation by The Sunday Times, which first revealed the allegations against the two doctors in 1999. Haslam sued the newspaper after he was exposed but his action failed. He was eventually jailed for three years. Kerr was judged unfit to stand trial for health reasons.
The scandal which is the biggest single case of sexual abuse by doctors in the NHS has wrecked the lives of dozens of vulnerable women.
|
|
-
0 comments on this story
|
|
Home Top Disclaimer Site
Credits
Nursing Jobs | Just for Nurses | Nursing Agencies List | Charles Bloe Training
Nursing Portal | Nursing Events | Brutish Nursing | British Nursing Websites
Website Development and SEO Services
|
|
|