I helped patients die, says cleared GP

Published on Saturday 19 June 2010 20:35

AN INVESTIGATION may be reopened after a former GP who was struck off for giving vulnerable elderly people excessively high doses of morphine admitted hastening the deaths of patients in his care.

• Dr Howard Martin: defended actions. Pic PA

Dr Howard Martin, 75, who was cleared of murdering three patients last week, said he gave fatal doses of painkillers to elderly and terminally ill patients, but claimed he was motivated by the wish to limit their suffering, rather than attempting to "play God".

"I twice helped people die, not because they wanted to die but because they had such dreadful suffering. Everyone else wanted to (die] – they could make that choice," he said in an interview. "I just promised people that they could die free from pain and with dignity. Most times, patients and relatives were of an accord and wanted the patient to be free from pain and have dignity. In that scenario I would take control by keeping people asleep until they had passed over."

Durham police said yesterday they would consult with the Crown Prosecution Service over whether there are grounds to reopen an investigation into the deaths of Martin's patients.

On Friday, the General Medical Council struck Martin off for his "deliberate course of conduct" towards 18 elderly vulnerable patients who died shortly after he gave them excessively high doses of morphine. The hearing concerned the deaths of the patients between 1994 and 2004.

Martin did not speak about his actions during the murder trial, during the inquests into the deaths of the three men or the GMC hearing which ended on Friday, and admitted that breaking his silence on the case now may lead to him "spending the rest of my life in prison".

The GMC panel found him guilty of serious misconduct because of his inappropriate and irresponsible painkiller injections and erased him from the medical register.

Relatives of Martin's patients gave a mixed reaction to the news. Albert Cubitt, 88, said his wife Bessie, who died in January 2001 aged 78 after battling lung cancer, was in considerable discomfort towards the end of her life, and had asked Martin to end her suffering.

"When the time came it was her that asked if she could do it. She was grateful."

Paul Gittins, whose father Harry died in January 2004 aged 74, said he hoped the police would reinvestigate his father's death. He said: "I think the police should look into it because the evidence that's come up from the coroner's court – the coroner said my dad would not have died when he did if it wasn't for the high doses of diamorphine – and with what the GMC has come out with, it's evidence that hopefully the police could use this and re-look into the case."

Martin did not attend the hearing in Manchester last week, saying he was not prepared to travel from his home because his wife, aged in her late 80s, was in poor health.