A GP who took on Harold Shipman's patients has become the first in the world to allow them to see their medical records at home - because they were so suspicious.

Dr Amir Hannan has spent three years developing a secure website which lets patients access their highly-confidential records to allay fears and give them more information about treatment.

He hopes the pilot, which currently involves 1,000 patients at the Haughton and Thornley medical centres, in Denton and Hyde, and Hadfield medical centre, will be taken up by the NHS and become standard.

Information

He said: "When I took on Shipman's old patients they really wanted to know what was in their records to see if he had prescribed any drugs in their names. I took the attitude that I have nothing to hide, so showed them.

"People became more interested in the information on their own health and what they could do about it. They started to take ownership of their own records instead of leaving it to the GP."

The development follows Dame Janet Smith's recommendation that GPs and the drugs they prescribe should be more closely monitored. Dame Smith led the inquiry into Harold Shipman, who is believed to have murdered 250 of his patients from his practice in Hyde.

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