British Doctor’s Killings Spark Watchdog Plan

Britain will set up a government agency to monitor doctors in the wake of a chilling report that suggests a general practitioner convicted of 15 murders may actually have killed closer to 300 of his patients.

Eager to restore faith in the medical profession after the report on the career of Dr. Harold Shipman, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans Sunday for an agency that would swiftly investigate complaints about physician performance.

Blair said the National Clinical Assessment Authority, coupled with a new system of annual appraisals for doctors, will provide “the best possible chance” of preventing a repetition of the Shipman case.

Shipman, who ran a busy solo practice near Manchester, was convicted last January of killing 15 women by administering lethal doses of heroin during routine checkups. The father of four is serving 15 life sentences.

At the time of the trial, a local coroner estimated the true number of victims could be as high as 150. The report by a University of Leicester professor that was released last week suggested an even higher number. It found there were 297 more deaths than would normally be expected during Shipman’s 24-year career.

The new authority will not replace the existing General Medical Council, a self-regulatory body of doctors that came under fire for failing to discover what Shipman was doing.

Health officials said the agency will refer well-founded complaints to the council, hospital trusts and health authorities, making recommendations to ensure that proper action is taken more quickly than under the current system.