The £21 million question: was the Shipman inquiry worth the cost?
In short: When Harold Shipman was convicted of murdering 15 patients, a massive investigation began. It eventually expanded to examine 1,000 cases, lasting nearly four years and costing nearly £21 million. But did this massive expenditure truly serve the public interest, or was it an expensive pursuit of the unknown?
Harold Shipman, a general practitioner in Hyde near Manchester, was arrested in August 1998. While he was ultimately convicted of murdering 15 patients, police suspected his true victim count was much higher, with estimates ranging between 218 and 280 people under his care. The scale of his crimes necessitated a response far larger than a standard criminal trial. The sheer magnitude of the potential killings loomed over the entire legal process.
The inquiry's trajectory changed significantly due to legal pressure. Originally, Lord Laming was tasked with leading a private inquiry, but the families of the victims successfully used judicial review proceedings to demand a public forum. This shift led to the appointment of Lady Justice Janet Smith. Upon taking the lead, Smith faced a complex mandate: the Government, represented by Health Secretary Alan Milburn, sought rapid improvements to monitoring systems, yet Smith felt a moral obligation to address the mounting number of suspicious deaths. Smith chose to preside over the proceedings alone rather than assembling a larger panel of experts. She also noted that her initial terms of reference were quite disorganized and messy.
To find answers, Smith expanded the scope to include a massive factual investigation into every patient death occurring during Shipman's 24-year career. This decision roughly doubled the inquiry's duration from two years to four and likely doubled its cost. Investigators, including part-time solicitors and paralegals, reviewed 1,000 files. They were able to dismiss about half of these cases—where deaths occurred in hospitals, abroad, or via accidents—but the remaining investigation was essential to provide the families with the truth. This intensive process required a large team of paralegals and part-time solicitors to manage the workload.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Shipman Inquiry: Was it worth it? [Part 1] by Lady Justice Janet Smith
- Also: Part Two - 'The Shipman Inquiry: Was it worth it?' and 'My experience of inquiries as inquisitor and victim'
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