“Following the admission by Dr Winslow in 2020 that he had taken medicines from the Trust…”

The coroner’s concerns

– 1. Following the admission by Dr Winslow in 2020 that he had taken medicines from the Trust with a view to ending his life, it is a matter of concern that the case was not formally referred to the Police and the General Medical Council. Making such referrals would have had the potential benefit of:i) Providing the Trust with ready access to external advice as to the adequacy (or otherwise) of steps taken to mitigate the future risk of staff members misappropriating medicines with a view to self-harming; and ii) Offered access to a mechanism whereby objective analysis of Dr Winslow’s fitness to practise as a Consultant Anaesthetist (both from a health and broader perspective) could have taken place; 2. In December 2020, the Trust became aware that, whilst on sick leave from the NHS, Dr Winslow had continued with his private practice notwithstanding an explicit instruction from his manager to the effect that he should refrain from all work. It is a further matter of concern that this development did not, of itself, cause the Trust to reconsider its position and make the referrals set out above; 3. In the absence of any meaningful external review of the case as a whole, it is a particular concern that most of the actions which followed the theft of medication by Dr Winslow in 2020 appear to have been taken as a result of decisions made by members of the Trust’s medical hierarchy. In view of the gravity of the issues raised by Dr Winslow’s misappropriation of drugs in 2020, and the previous suicide of a Consultant Anaesthetist employed by the Trust involving misuse of prescription medicines, it is a matter of concern that a more multi-disciplinary approach was not taken, perhaps overseen by someone such as a non-executive director of the organisation.

An extract. Read the full report, including the circumstances of the death, on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

Source

judiciary.uk, Prevention of Future Deaths reports, 2022-0257

Added to Minute Book

8 Oct 2026

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, judiciary.uk. Open Government Licence v3.0