Shipman praised 'care in the community' in TV interview

Researchers have discovered Harold Shipman gave a television interview on the benefits of care in the community.

Relatives of victims, and suspected victims, will get a rare chance to see and hear the former doctor's voice as he appeared on World in Action in 1982.

The footage of Shipman features an interview with the GP talking about Brindle House, a community centre in Hyde, Greater Manchester, which had links with a number of his victims.

Shipman, who was convicted last year of murdering 15 patients after a lengthy trial at Preston Crown Court, spoke enthusiastically of treating patients in the community rather than confining them in hospitals.

Sitting behind his desk he says: "In the past, if a patient had got a mental illness that required admission to hospital, the patient was formally admitted, undressed and placed in bed and was treated as though they had a physical illness.

"A consultant would come round - often in a white coat - and there was an invisible barrier between the patient and the doctor".

He added: "Brindle House has gone a long way towards breaking these barriers down. If you have got a mental illness such as depression, to have you admitted to a hospital is adding another factor towards that depression.

"If you can stay in the community, receive your treatment in the community with your family around you and your friends, then this all adds to the speed of recovery from the illness," he said.

Dr John Grenville, who was called as an expert witness for the prosecution during Shipman's trial, told the news programme: "He certainly comes over as being very arrogant and I'm sure that the only way he could have carried this off and indeed the only way that he could get through his trial was by thinking he was invincible".