A fresh criminal investigation has been launched into Gosport War Memorial Hospital, where hundreds of patients died over a 14-year period after being given powerful painkillers.

The care provided to patients who died at the Hampshire hospital between 1987 and 2001 will be the focus of the probe, Kent Police said in a statement on Tuesday.

More than 450 elderly patients had their lives shortened, while another 200 were "probably" similarly given opioids between 1989 and 2000 without medical justification, according to a Gosport Independent Panel report released in June last year.

A team lead by Assistant Chief Constable Nick Downing then assessed the panel's findings to establish if there was sufficient new evidence to support a further police investigation.

Families were told there would be a fresh probe shortly before the announcement was made.


Image: Sisters Debbie MacKay (L) and Cindy Grant, whose grandfather Stanley Carby died at the hospital

Cindy Grant, whose grandfather Stanley Carby died at the hospital a day after being admitted for rehab following a stroke in April 1999, said she was pleased with the outcome but warned "having faith in another police investigation is going to be a bit hard to swallow".

She described Tuesday as "very, very emotional", as some of the people there didn't even know if their relatives were involved.

"An elderly lady broke down in tears about her mother, telling us the state of the hospital where she wasn't given any drink, any food," she added.

Image: Stanley Carby, who died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, and his wife

Her sister, Debbie MacKay, lamented the care Mr Carby was given, saying he had been fitted with a syringe driver to administer midazolam, an opioid.

"He was in for rehab, why would he need a syringe driver and midazolam?

"He was given a big plate of food but they didn't cut it up. You can't give food to someone that's had a stroke, it affects one side of their mouth, you have to cut it up," she said.

Ian Sandford, whose mother Hazel Felicity Sandford died at the hospital, welcomed the new investigation, but had reservations about how thorough it could be.

"They should have sorted this out a long time ago," he said, adding that families are "very glad" Kent Police is taking on the inquiry.

Image: A fresh investigation into the deaths was announced on Tuesday

Mr Downing said on Tuesday: "The families of those affected by the events at Gosport War Memorial Hospital are at the heart of everything we do, and I hope the news that we will now be carrying out a full investigation is of some comfort to them.

"This investigation is not about numbers, it is about people - specifically those who died at the hospital and the loved ones they have left behind."

He added: "It was therefore important for us to carry out an initial assessment of the materials obtained by the Gosport Independent Panel to establish if it contained sufficient new information that has not already been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service."

Image: Relatives of those who died call for justice outside Portsmouth Cathedral

Mr Downing said police will be meeting with relatives of those who died on a one-to-one basis, where they will be invited to give statements on their own experiences with the hospital.

Relatives of the 456 elderly patients demanded criminal charges were brought against those responsible last year.

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An independent inquiry found that "there was a disregard for human life and a culture of shortening the lives of a large number of patients by prescribing and administering dangerous doses of a hazardous combination of medication not clinically indicated or justified".

Bridget Reeves's 88-year-old grandmother, Elsie Devine, was one of those who died.

Image: Elsie Devine was one of the patients who died

Ms Reeves organised a petition calling for urgent action and accused Attorney General Geoffrey Cox of dragging his feet over the matter.

It was signed by more than 100,000 people and handed into Downing Street.

Three previous investigations into 92 deaths at the hospital have resulted in no charges being brought.

Image: Bridget Reeves's grandmother died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital

The General Medical Council ruled in 2010 that Dr Jane Barton, who has since retired, was guilty of multiple instances of professional misconduct relating to 12 patients who died at the hospital.

Dr Barton said in a statement last year she was a "hard-working doctor" who was "doing her best" for patients in a "very inadequately resourced" part of the NHS.

The government announced in November that NHS whistleblowers were to be given better protection in a bid to improve patient safety in the wake of the scandal.

The Department of Health and Social Care also set out plans to change the law to compel every NHS Trust in England to report annually on how concerns raised by staff and patients have been addressed.