Jimmy Savile investigations
History & Policy |
As part of the NHS and Department of Health investigations into matters relating to Jimmy Savile, H&P historians gave historical evidence at a special forum at King's College London.
In 2013 H&P was commissioned by the independent overseer, Kate Lampard, to provide insight into the culture and issues that formed the background to Jimmy Savile's life and his offences on NHS premises.
Ms Lampard was asked by the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, to provide independent oversight of the NHS and Department of Health investigations. Her role also involved drawing out the themes and lessons learnt from the NHS investigations.
At a forum in May 2013 at King's College London eight H&P historians presented their research to Ms Lampard and investigators for Leeds General Infirmary, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Broadmoor Hospital.
The presentations included:
Dr Adrian Bingham (Sheffield) Sexual culture, celebrity and the press since c.1960 Text [PDF] and Presentation [PDF]
Dr Diane Carpenter (Southampton) Broadmoor: culture and complexity Text [PDF] and Presentation [PDF]
Dr Lucy Delap (King's College London) Child sexual abuse, social work and feminism Text [PDF]
Dr Martin Gorsky (LSHTM) Hospital volunteering and fundraising in historical context Text [PDF] and Presentation [PDF]
Dr Louise A Jackson (Edinburgh) Sexual assault, criminal justice and policing since the 1880s Text [PDF] and Presentation [PDF]
Professor John Mohan (Birmingham) Charitable fundraising and the NHS: policy and practice since 1948 Text [PDF]
Dr Alex Mold (LSHTM), Complaining in the NHS: 1960s-1980s Text [PDF] and Presentation [PDF]
Dr Stephanie Snow (Manchester) NHS management structures and culture from c.1960-2000s Text [PDF] and Presentation [PDF]
Commenting on the historians' contribution, Ms Lampard said, 'Dealing with historical cases of sexual abuse is inherently difficult. Inevitably questions are asked about what was acceptable at the time. History & Policy provided invaluable insight into the parameters of acceptable behaviour, societal norms and the culture of the NHS in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s that was shared with investigators at Broadmoor, Leeds General Infirmary and Stoke Mandeville hospitals.'
'This common understanding helped all three organisations avoid hindsight bias and added significantly to the rigour, thoroughness and fairness of their investigation reports.'
'The historians were quickly able to set the historical context for the allegations about Savile’s behaviour, and do so in a way that was easy to understand and tailored to what we needed.'