Aftermath Shipman

On Monday 30th January 2017 at 8pm, (repeated again on 1st February 11am), BBC Radio 4 ran a half hour programme entitled “Aftermath Shipman“.

As part of the programme, the ex Chairs of Haughton Thornley Patient Participation Group, Donald Hunter, Bill Burgoine and the late Chair Ingrid Brindle as well as Dr Hannan were on air. A very heinous crime was committed over an extended period of time which many, many families were affected by and continue to do so. The local practices including ours have helped patients and their loved ones come to terms with what happened. As a practice, we have learned how to support you and work with you as best as we can. We have also had a role in helping others to understand too and ensure we rebuild the trust of our patients and staff. We felt the time was right to share what we have done. We continue to inform the wider world what has happened and how the practice has regained the trust of those it serves. 

Across the country currently very few people can actually view their full GP electronic health records. Takeup remains very very low nationally and this contrasts vastly with our own practice. Currently (August 2023) the proportion of patients in the practice with full access to their GP electronic health records are

  • over 10,000 patients (81% of our total patient population) 
  • 95% of our patiets who are pregnant 
  • 86% of our patients with anxiety and depression
  • 86% with low back pain
  • 88% of our patients who are of Bengali origin
  • 73% of our patients with learning difficulties

We know what needs to happen. We know how to do this. We know what works and what does not. Almost everybody who has signed up has been asked to do so following a brief conversation with a member of staff or in the consulting room with the doctor or nurse. When patients are asked to do the online questionnaire, the process begins.

If anybody has any concerns then please do contact the practice, Victim Support, the Mental Health services or see Depression Care where there are a variety of resources to help. Victim Support have been very helpful to individuals and families and continue to do so.

111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It’s fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

In case of a life threatening emergency, please dial 999

We would like to thank all our patients and staff and in particular the Patient Participation Group for helping us to work together. Our thoughts are for those families who were deeply affected and whose voices still need to be heard so that nobody else has to ever go through what they had to. We are here to serve you.