The Kerr/Haslam Inquiry

Nigel Pleming KC · work from 2002 · published 2005

What this was

Inquiry into how two psychiatrists in North Yorkshire were able to abuse patients over many years, and why complaints from patients, mostly women, were not believed.

Why it sits in the hub

It is a direct ancestor of later findings about patients not being believed, weak employer checks, and professional regulators acting too slowly. Those themes return in Paterson and in mental health inquiries.

Findings

Finding 1
Patients reported abuse and were not believed. Complaints were not investigated properly.
Complaints and redress Listening to patients and families Mental health safety
Finding 2
Employers and professional regulators did not join up what they knew.
Leadership and boards Regulation and oversight

Recommendations in this hub

Paraphrase of the public recommendations, not the official text.

1Partly doneNHS employers and regulators
Take complaints of sexual misconduct by clinicians seriously and investigate them independently of the team.
Complaints and redress Regulation and oversight
2Partly doneEmployers
Improve information sharing when a clinician moves, so concerns are not left behind.
Kark and Thirlwall later made stronger versions of this recommendation for managers as well as clinicians.
Accountability of managers Regulation and oversight