Only a dozen patients due to speak at Neale inquiry
02/05/2003
Barry Nelson

On the first day of the Richard Neale inquiry, officials have admitted that only about a dozen former patients will give evidence.

Colin Phillips, secretary to the inquiry, said they had heard from "60 to 70" former patients, but only about a dozen were expected to be asked to speak.

Some of the first to arrive were two elderly women patients who had suffered at the hands of the former surgeon at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

The women, who asked not to be identified, said they were there to observe rather than take part in the inquiry, which is being held behind closed doors.

"We wanted more openness. It's wrong, really wrong to hold this in private. The Press should be allowed in," one of them said.

Confirmation of the small number of patients who have come forward illustrates the success of a boycott led by the 270-strong Action and Support Group for Medical Victims of Richard Neale.

Sheila Wright-Hogeland, chairwoman and founder of the group, who has always called for a public inquiry, has repeatedly criticised the private inquiry as "a cover-up and a whitewash".

This is strenuously denied by the inquiry chairman, Suzan Matthews QC, who hopes that the hearings in York can lead to beneficial changes in how the National Health Service handles complaints.

Officials have also confirmed for the first time that no new significant witnesses have come forward from the NHS side.

The former gynaecologist worked at the Friarage Hospital between 1985 and 1995, where he attracted increasing numbers of complaints.

Despite two investigations within the hospital and the disclosure that Mr Neale had been struck off in Canada, the Friarage allowed him to carry on operating on women.

Hospital bosses then gave him a pay-off and favourable reference, which allowed him to get another job.

It was not until the patient group turned to The Northern Echo to launch a high-profile campaign to stop Mr Neale that he was suspended.

He was struck off the medical register in 2000 after 34 sample charges of serious professional misconduct were proven against him.

The GMC heard that he had botched operations, lied to patients and altered records.