- Since three of us wrote our letter to the Guardian on
January 27, questioning whether Dr Kelly's death was suicide, we have received
professional support for our view from vascular surgeon Martin Birnstingl,
pathologist Dr Peter Fletcher, and consultant in public health Dr Andrew
Rouse. We all agree that it is highly improbable that the primary cause
of Dr Kelly's death was haemorrhage from transection of a single ulnar
artery, as stated by Brian Hutton in his report.
-
- On February 10, Dr Rouse wrote to the BMJ explaining
that he and his colleague, Yaser Adi, had spent 100 hours preparing a report,
Hutton, Kelly and the Missing Epidemiology. They concluded that "the
identified evidence does not support the view that wrist-slash deaths are
common (or indeed possible)". While Professor Chris Milroy, in a letter
to the BMJ, responded, "unlikely does not make it impossible",
Dr Rouse replied: "Before most of us will be prepared to accept wristslashing
... as a satisfactory and credible explanation for a death, we will also
require evidence that such aetiologies are likely; not merely 'possible'."
-
- Our criticism of the Hutton report is that its verdict
of "suicide" is an inappropriate finding. To bleed to death from
a transected artery goes against classical medical teaching, which is that
a transected artery retracts, narrows, clots and stops bleeding within
minutes. Even if a person continues to bleed, the body compensates for
the loss of blood through vasoconstriction (closing down of non-essential
arteries). This allows a partially exsanguinated individual to live for
many hours, even days.
-
- Professor Milroy expands on the finding of Dr Nicholas
Hunt, the forensic pathologist at the Hutton inquiry - that haemorrhage
was the main cause of death (possibly finding it inadequate) - and falls
back on the toxicology: "The toxicology showed a significant overdose
of co-proxamol. The standard text, Baselt, records deaths with concentrations
at 1 mg/l, the concentration found in Kelly." But Dr Allan, the toxicogist
in the case, considered this nowhere near toxic. Each of the two components
was a third of what is normally considered a fatal level. Professor Milroy
then talks of "ischaemic heart disease". But Dr Hunt is explicit
that Dr Kelly did not suffer a heart attack. Thus, one must assume that
no changes attributable to myocardial ischaemia were actually found at
autopsy.
-
- We believe the verdict given is in contradiction to medical
teaching; is at variance with documented cases of wrist-slash suicides;
and does not align itself with the evidence presented at the inquiry. We
call for the reopening of the inquest by the coroner, where a jury may
be called and evidence taken on oath.
-
- Andrew Rouse, Public health consultant Searle Sennett,
Specialist in anaesthesiology David Halpin, Specialist in trauma Stephen
Frost, Specialist in radiology Dr Peter Fletcher, Specialist in pathology
Martin Birnstingl, Specialist in vascular surgery
-
- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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- http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,13747,1146232,00.html
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