Lawyer Supporting Families Responds To Independent Inquiry Into The David Fuller Case

The independent Inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case delivered phase 1 of its report on Tuesday, 28 November.

Irwin Mitchell represents a number of relatives of victims whose bodies were abused by the hospital electrician.

The report looking into how David Fuller was able to offend for years revealed serious failings of management and made 17 recommendations, including installation of CCTV cameras and that non-mortuary staff are always accompanied.

Expert Opinion

“Sir Jonathan Michael, the Chair of the Fuller Inquiry, has today informed the families of his finding that there have been repeated failures in the governance, regulation and management at the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and repeated failures to follow procedures. He described the families as having been let down badly by those at all levels who had the responsibility to protect their loved ones.

“The failings are astonishing – in one year Fuller entered the mortuary unsupervised on 444 separate occasions. Sir Michael described the mortuary as an “uncontrolled environment” where although senior management were aware of problems since 2008 they repeatedly failed to take steps in order to manage them.

“Whilst the families have yet to read the detail of the report, they expect all of those individuals who had responsibility for governance and management of the hospital to reflect seriously about their own failures, acknowledge those failings and take personal responsibility for them. The fact that failures occurred for such a long period and during different regimes of management of the hospital and the Trust should not cloud issues of personal responsibility.

We await the Trust’s response to this damning report.” Sallie Booth - Partner

If you have been affected by the crimes of David Fuller and would like to speak to a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, please contact Sallie Booth (Sallie.Booth@IrwinMitchell.com) or Katie Thumwood (Katie.Thumwood@IrwinMitchell.com) directly.