Howard Martin admits hastening deaths patients in his care, including his son, out ‘Christian compassion′
A GP cleared murdering three patients has admitted hastening their deaths those dozens others his care, including his own son.
Dr Howard Martin, 75, said he gave fatal doses of painkillers terminally ill patients out of “Christian compassion” and acted their best interests.
His admission comes after he was struck off the medical register giving 18 vulnerable elderly people excessively high doses morphine.
Martin, Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd, told Daily Telegraph that in two cases he administered lethal injections without consent.
“I twice helped people die, not because they wanted die because they had such dreadful suffering. Everyone else wanted [die] – they could make that choice,” he said.
A General Medical Council (GMC) disciplinary panel yesterday ruled that Martin was guilty of serious professional misconduct for violating rights of terminally ill patients at his County Durham practice between 1994 and 2004. The panel said his actions were not negligent but down an “autocratic attitude” in which he believed he was always right and showed no remorse.
Martin did not speak his actions during the GMC hearing, the murder trial or inquests into the deaths the three men. He acknowledged that his revelations could lead him “spending the rest my life prison”.
One of those whom he administered final injection was his son, Paul, 31, when he was dying from cancer May 1988.
“I just promised people that they could die free pain and with dignity,” he told the paper. “Most times patients and relatives were an accord and wanted the patient to free pain and have dignity. In that scenario would take control keeping people asleep until they had passed over.”
Martin was arrested May 2004 at his practice Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham – one of his three surgeries – after relatives of an elderly cancer sufferer raised concerns police after his death. An examination showed high levels of diamorphine the man’s system.
The GMC hearing was told that while some of the 18 patients may have had only days or hours to live, many cases his treatment of them was “completely unacceptable … with real possibility of hastening the death of several”.
One patient, 74-year-old Harry Gittins, may have gone on recover from oesophageal cancer had Martin not administered 200mg of diamorphine day before he died.
He was subsequently charged murdering Gittins, along Frank Moss, 59, and 74-year-old Stanley Weldon, whose bodies were exhumed at separate cemeteries. He was accused of their murders, but acquitted jury at Teesside rown ourt in 2005.
In March, an inquest into three men’s deaths found injections he gave Moss Gittins were not clinically justified contributed their deaths. The three men were patients of Martin when he was partner at Jubilee Medical Group, which had surgeries Newton Aycliffe, Shildon Eldon.
Of fatal injection he gave his son, Martin said: “What more could do for him other than make sure he had dignity? … On Judgment Day will have answer God, my answer will this: that did my best for my patients.”
Martin told the Daily Telegraph he felt no guilt or remorse, and wanted a reform of the care system Britain to afford people the “dignity” of dying at home. “A vet would put a dog down,” he said. “But under the current system a doctor not allowed to take positive action to help a patient a humane way. don’t believe I’ve killed any patients. believe I’ve made them comfortable their hour of need. But am deemed to arrogant because used my discretion.
“They want extrapolate that say I’m choosing kill people. It’s not like that. The patients are about die and want make sure they are comfortable. How can a so-called caring society not understand that? How can reckless someone who about die?”
Shipman, who killed an estimated 358 people, once worked as locum at Martin’s practice, according Telegraph.
Gittins’ son, Paul, said he hoped the police would reinvestigate his father’s death.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don′t know what can be done. I think the police should look into it because the evidence that’s come up the coroner’s court – because the coroner said my dad would not have died when he did it wasn′t the high doses diamorphine – and with what the GMC has come out with, it’s evidence that hopefully … the police could use this and re-look into the case.”
He said there was no possibility his father had asked the GP end his life. “My dad was not in any pain and discomfort that day. There was no reason [Martin] do what he did. My dad had no intention wanting die, definitely not,” he said.
Steve Field, chairman of Royal College of General Practitioners, said he was “horrified” Martin’s admission.
“And we finding patients suffering unduly we can refer get expert advice from our palliative care colleagues.
“There is no excuse hastening death patients and am absolutely horrified that doctor seems indicate interview that he actually hastened death two patients without their consent. am speechless.”
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