Things that make you go "Ooooh!!": Harold Shipman

Dr. Harold Shipman (Dr. Death)

Harold Shipman was an English general practitioner. With an estimated 250 victims, he is considered to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history. In January 2000, he was found guilty of murdering 15 patients under his care and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a whole life order. In the UK, under a “life sentence” prisoners are eligible for early release after a minimum term set by the judge. 4 years later, Shipman hanged himself in his cell at HMP Wakefield.

“The Shipman Enquiry” revealed the extent of his crimes and had far reaching consequences for the NHS primary care services. Victims were vulnerable elderly patients of his, who trusted their doctor. He would administer a single fatal dose of drugs (typically morphine or diamorphine) or prescribe excessive quantities of medicines. Shipman was reputedly very close to his mother who developed lung cancer. A doctor administered morphine to her at home where a 17 year old Shipman saw her pain subside, until her death.

Just a year after taking his first position in general practice, Shipman was fined £600 after being caught forging prescriptions of pethidine for himself. In 1993 he established his own surgery, earning himself a position of respect in the community. When concerns were expressed about the high rate of death amongst his patients, especially the high number of cremation forms for elderly women, insufficient evidence led to police closing the investigation. Shipman took a further 3 lives before the daughter of his final victim raised the alarm. Police began investigating after she told how she and her children were excluded from her mother's will, while Shipman was set to inherit £386,000. An exhumation revealed traces of diamorphine in the deceased woman, to which the doctor responded by alleging she had been an addict. Records he showed as evidence of his claims were found to have been made following her death.

Following his arrest in September 1998, a typewriter owned by Shipman was identified as that used to make the forged will. Of the deaths Shipman had certified, 15 specimen cases would be investigated, exposing a pattern of his administering lethal doses of diamorphine, signing death certificates then falsifying records to detail their failing health. A lengthy trial ended with guilty verdicts and 15 life sentences, for which he joined 600 of Britain's most high profile criminals at the maximum security facility known as “monster mansion”.

It's suspected his suicide was intended to assure his wife's entitlement to an NHS pension and with it her financial security. A year later, Shipman was quietly cremated outside normal working hours, attended by only his wife and four children. The inquiry concluded he had killed at least 218 patients between 1977 and 1998. During this time 459 of his patients died but there was no way to ascertain his culpability, leaving his final victim count at 250 over the 27 year period. £10,000 worth of jewellery was retrieved from Shipman's garage, much of which he is believed to have stolen from his victims. A memorial garden called “The garden of Tranquility” lies within Hyde park.

Changes in standard medical procedure in the UK is referred to as the “Shipman effect”. Wary of over-prescribing, changes in dispensing practices have led to many patients struggling with getting adequate pain medication. Single doctor general practices became a thing of the past, replaced by large multiple-doctor surgeries increasing the oversight of decisions. Organising a cremation now requires confirmation that a violent or unnatural death isn't suspected and that further examination of remains is not warranted.

For several years, I lived in the shadow of HMP Wakefield, right next to the country's most dangerous murderers, sex offenders and paedophiles. 25 foot high walls, floodlights, barbed wire, electric fences, CCTV cameras and prison service dog-handlers patrol the perimeter 24/7 circling Victorian institution. The sound from a weekly Sunday football match makes the otherwise tomb-like silence more noticeable. Our house sat amid a small terrace, originally built to accommodate the prison guards and their families. Contrary to popular opinion, there are few places as safe to live. Only one escapee has ever made it through the intense security. In 1959, IRA prisoner Sèamus Murphy was the only one of five heading over the wall, to be successful. Numerous people colluded to bring the plan to fruition. But today, many of those detained and their heinous crimes are known by the public, who would be far less sympathetic and prepared to assist them.

It's rumoured that a number of Shipman's fellow inmate's sought medical advice from him, of which at least two ended up seriously ill in the infirmary. Even if someone tries to kill you in prison, nobody talks about it to authorities. Amongst those condemned to pass their sentences there are:

*Klaus Fuchs. German spy.

*Ian Huntley. Child murderer.

"Colin Ireland. Serial killer.

*Ian Watkins. Lost Prophets.

*Levi Bellfield. Serial killer.

*Robert Black. Child murderer.

*Mark Bridger. Child murderer.

*Charles Bronson. Most violent.

*Robert Maudsley. Cannibal.

*Jeremy Bamber. Murderer.

*Damien Kendall. Murderer.

*Kamel Bourgass. Police murder