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Six GPs who signed cremation forms for Shipman face GMC
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     Six GPs who countersigned cremation forms for Harold Shipman failed to detect suspicious circumstances in the deaths of his patients and missed numerous opportunities to stop Shipman抯 23 year career of murder, the General Medical Council抯 professional conduct committee heard this week.

    Peter Bennett, Rajesh Patel, Jeremy Dirckze, Stephen Farrar, Alastair MacGillivray, and Susan Booth, all from Hyde, Greater Manchester, worked in surgeries close to Shipman抯 practices at Donneybrook and Market Street. All six deny serious professional misconduct.

    Nigel Grundy, for the GMC, told the hearing in Manchester that the six GPs and Dr Shipman had a reciprocal arrangement to countersign each other抯 cremation forms.

    He said that when patients who die an apparently natural death are released for cremation, their doctor has to sign a cremation form, known as Form B, giving the cause and circumstances of death. A second doctor then has to countersign a Form C, having scrutinised the comments in Form B.

    Between them the six doctors signed 240 of Dr Shipman抯 Form Cs over a period of 18 years. The Shipman Inquiry later ruled that 124 of those patients had been unlawfully killed.

    In one case in 1988, said Mr Grundy, Dr Bennett signed a Form C relating to the death of 80 year old Ethel Bennett (no relation); the form said that she had died from bronchopneumonia. In the corresponding Form B, Dr Shipman claimed to have attended Miss Bennett for six hours starting at 1pm, yet he also claimed that she died alone at 4pm.

    "We submit it is highly unusual for someone to die of bronchopneumonia after less than about two days of serious illness," said Mr Grundy. "The circumstances outlined on the Form B indicate Miss Bennett died suddenly and alone. It was mandatory Dr Bennett should have made further inquiries and should not have signed Form C."

    Dame Janet Smith, who chaired the Shipman inquiry, criticised 10 Hyde GPs for failing to question his high death rate, his frequent attendance at the time of death, and his use of vague terms such as "old age" when describing cause of death. Two GPs were cleared by the GMC earlier this year, and two more are under investigation in addition to the six currently charged.

    A pathologist who was also criticised by the inquiry, Dr David Lyle Bee, was cleared of serious professional misconduct by the GMC this September, but the GMC later highlighted the finding in a report to the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, suggesting that the regulatory council might exercise its power to refer "unduly lenient" GMC findings to the High Court.(London Owen Dyer)