A NURSE has told an inquest into the death of ten patients at a Hampshire hospital that she had raised concerns about the level of painkillers being prescribed.

Anita Turbritt, a senior staff nurse at Gosport War Memorial Hospital (GWMH), said that she had been worried about how analgesic medicines, such as diamorphine, were being administered.

She said that she had raised concerns that an “analgesic ladder”, which lays out how dosage and types of painkillers should be increased incrementally, was not being adhered to.

But Ms Turbritt added that she raised the issue in 1991 and that practice at the hospital was changed before the first of the 10 deaths in 1996.

When asked by coroner Andrew Bradley if she would have raised the issue again in 1996 if she still had concerns, she said: “If I was uncomfortable I would have said so and I wouldn’t have administered the painkillers.”

Tom Leeper, representing four of the families, asked Ms Turbritt if she remembered concerns being raised in 1991 that deaths were sometimes hastened unnecessarily.

She responded: “I do not recall.”

Ms Turbritt added that she would not administer a high dosage of painkillers if she had concerns that the level was inappropriate for the patient.

Inquests are being held at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court into the death of ten patients more than ten years ago.

Hampshire police have carried out a series of investigations into the treatment of 92 patients at the Hampshire hospital in the late 1990s but no prosecutions were brought.

The patients’ families believe that sedatives such as diamorphine were over-prescribed at the hospital and led to the death of their relatives who were receiving recuperative care.

As well as the police investigation, an inquiry was held by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) which criticised prescribing practices at the Hampshire hospital.

The inquests, expected to last six weeks, are being held into the deaths of Arthur Cunningham, 79, from Gosport on September 26, 1998; Elsie Devine, 88, on November 21, 1999; Sheila Gregory, 91, of Gosport, on November 22, 1999 and Ruby Lake, 84, of Gosport, on August 21, 1998.

The other deaths are of Elsie Lavender, 83, of Gosport, on March 6, 1996; Geoffrey Packman, 67, of Emsworth, on September 3, 1999; Leslie Pittock, 82, on January 24, 1996; Helena Service, 99, of Gosport, on June 5, 1997; Enid Spurgin, 92, of Gosport, on April 13, 1999, and Robert Wilson, 75, of Sarisbury Green, on October 18, 1998.

The hearing continues today.