A GP struck off for giving vulnerable elderly people excessively high doses of morphine admitted hastening the deaths of patients in his care, it has been reported.
Dr Howard Martin, 75, of Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd, said in an interview that he gave fatal doses of painkillers to terminally ill patients in a bid to limit their suffering.
The doctor, cleared of murdering three patients, told the Daily Telegraph: "I twice helped people die, not because they wanted to die but because they had such dreadful suffering. Everyone else wanted to (die) - they could make that choice."
Instead of being a second Harold Shipman, Dr Martin said he was motivated by "Christian compassion" and acted in the best interests of his patients.
He said: "I just promised people that they could die free from pain and with dignity.
"Most times patients and relatives were of an accord and wanted the patient to be free from pain and have dignity. In that scenario I would take control by keeping people asleep until they had passed over."
The General Medical Council has struck Dr Martin off for his "deliberate course of conduct" towards 18 elderly vulnerable patients who died shortly after he gave them excessively high doses of morphine. The hearing concerned the deaths of the patients between 1994 and 2004.
