Foolish or Brave?

I know this man. He is Dr Howard Martin who today spoke out about the number of people he has helped 'die with dignity' - his words.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago I discovered that some people were referring to him as 'another Shipman'.

Today, a day after he has been struck off the medical register, he has decided to speak out as, on legal advice, he did not talk about what he had done during his triple murder trial, subsequent inquests or the GMC hearing. He decided to speak out to call for reform of a system of care which - he claims - takes the 'soft' option of confining the terminally ill to hospitals and hospices rather than allowing them the dignity of dying at home with their loved ones.

“A vet would put a dog down, but under the current system a doctor is not allowed to take positive action to help a patient in a humane way,” he said.

“I don’t believe I’ve killed any patients. I believe I’ve made them comfortable in their hour of need. But I am deemed to be arrogant because I used my discretion.

“They want to extrapolate that to say I’m choosing to kill people. It’s not like that. The patients are about to die and I want to make sure they are comfortable. How can a so-called caring society not understand that? How can I be reckless with someone who is about to die?”

Matt Wardman accuses him of being a murderer.

It's about 32 years since I last saw Dr Martin. He had not long left the army, where he was a medical consultant specialising in gynecology, and had set up as a GP. In his position as a senior medic he was the gynecologist who saw me through a very complicated first pregnancy. He's not a charismatic man, rather brusque perhaps, but certainly one whose first priority was the well-being of his patients. What impressed me most about him was his openness and determination to discuss any treatments in detail. Never did he undertake any procedure without explaining why it was needed and how it was performed.

My child arrived during the day and I had no cause to think anything was untoward. However, because I never sleep well in hospitals, I was awake when a dinner-jacketed man appeared at my bedside around 2am. I distinctly remember joking about the hospital coffee and saying he obvious was addicted, only for him to explain that the baby had turned rather blue early in the evening and he'd called in to see him prior to his evening out. He explained he was sure nothing was wrong and had arranged for constant supervision. His reason for returning at that time of night was 'I was passing by and thought I'd just have a look at the records and check all was well.' It was.

He is a religious man who didn't attend church because of obligation but because of his commitment to his faith. I've read nothing about his overseas work. He spent a considerable part of his holidays in Africa training women to be midwives and setting up women's clinics. It wasn't often he spoke about this work but once I asked him why he undertook it especially since he had a young family of his own. I'm paraphrasing here but the answer was, "Women there go into the countryside alone and give birth. If complications arise there's nobody to assist them. I want to help change that." He did the work because he believed he should offer his skills to those less fortunate than himself.

Although I knew him quite well in a professional capacity, because I needed to see him often, we never mixed socially. He was not a friend but a capable medic and then GP.

I understand at his trial there were hundreds of ex-patients and many ex-colleagues who offered character references to the court. That doesn't surprise me in the least.

Dr Martin wants a discussion about dying free from pain and dignity. There will be some of you reading this who think he did overstep the mark. Some of you will believe that the palliative care offered to the terminally ill who are in great pain is excellent. It may be in many cases but not all.

He believes that about half of all doctors give injections to those who are about to die. I don't know about that but I do know one who did. The one who 'helped' my father's last couple of days because my father had said he's had enough. That doctor died of cancer himself a few years later. During the last conversation I had with my Dad in the hospice, he said he wondered why he was being left there to rot in a bed and do nothing other than harass the nurses for more and more pain-killing medication. He had prostate cancer which had spread to his bones and even moving his arms slightly was dreadfully painful.

The GMC call Dr Martin arrogant. Indeed, his brusqueness could be interpreted in that way. Many of his peers may not agree that a dignified death in the comfort of your own home is the most humane way to leave this world. I do and I have a gut feeling there are doctors all over the country who, having watched the determination with which the law has investigated each and every case, will be thinking 'There but for the grace of God go I".

The CPS will make their decision about today's 'confession'. Whatever it is it's my belief that Howard Martin will accept the verdict. He's no Shipman. He's an honest man. Honest enough to speak out. Whether you think that brave or foolish is your decision. He could well have stayed silent and spent his own twilight years in relative obscurity.

Update: The Telegraph has a video interview with Dr Martin. View it here.

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