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The undertakers

17/ 7/2002

AN UNDERTAKER, who was among the first to become suspicious of Harold Shipman, told the public inquiry her fears seemed 'so ludicrous' at the time.

Deborah Bambroffe (formerly Massey) first became concerned about Shipman's high patient death rate in November 1997, including the fate of Marie Quinn who the former medic has subsequently been convicted of murdering.

"I was obviously worried because I had raised these concerns. I suppose I didn't want to believe those thoughts going through my mind - it seemed so ludicrous to the time," Mrs Bambroffe said.

Such thoughts led to the undertaker - of Frank Massey & Son Family Funeral Directors - speaking with Dr Susan May of the Brooke Surgery.

Mrs Bambroffe's father, Alan Massey, also gave evidence to the inquiry, telling how Shipman didn't flinch when confronted about his patient death rate.

Mr Massey saw Shipman at his surgery, in the middle of the flawed police investigation in April 1998.

But when Mr Massey expressed his fears, Shipman casually got up, handed over his deaths register and discussed it 'like he was talking about the weather'.

"He just said, 'Sit down, how can I help you?' and I just said, 'We've got some concerns'," Mr Massey said.

"He says, 'What are those?' I said, 'We seem to be getting a lot of deaths of elderly ladies, fully clothed', like I've already said, 'sat up or been out shopping and it seems strange', and he immediately got up.

"There was no action, no - I thought that he might have jumped down on me.

"He just got up, went to his cupboard or shelf near his desk, took his register out and he opened it up at different names and his words were, 'I've nothing to worry about that sort of thing. Anybody can see this book'."

Mr Massey added: "He said about this anybody can see this registrar and then we just went into a normal conversation - how are you, are you busy?

"His demeanour was not as if somebody had gone in and accused - well not accused - but making an inquiry like that. That settled me more than anything."

Mr Massey told the Shipman Inquiry he felt he had to go against his family's wishes and have it out with the medic as 'nothing appeared to be happening'.

"I discussed it with my family, that we weren't getting - nothing seemed to be happening at all. We did not know what was going off, just what we was thinking in our own minds," Mr Massey said.

"So I said, 'I am going to see him.' Something needed to be done.

"I certainly did not want to go in and accuse him of anything. I just wanted to know if there was anything going off.

"It is hard to say what I wanted to know. I knew there weren't something quite right but don't know what the answer to that question is. I just felt something needed to be done."