More than 100 women could have suffered sex abuse by anorexia nurse

- 14 August 2007;Evening Standard

Nurse could have 'molested' 135 women

London: An alert has been issued to 135 women after a senior nurse sexually abused vulnerable patients at an NHS clinic.

David Britten preyed on women and teenagers while they were being treated for anorexia and bulimia.

He was eventually struck off after a string of complaints and an independent investigation was ordered. It will report in autumn. Eight women won compensation from the health trust that runs the clinic after claiming it failed to protect them.

But there are fears that more women could have been abused.

Central North West London NHS foundation trust has now written to all women who may have been in contact with Britten since 1999.

It claims there are no reliable contact records for the hundreds of patients who may have been put at risk since the Eighties.

Britten, 53, from Laughton, East Sussex, was struck off in July 2004 after being found guilty of eight charges of misconduct at Peter Dally Clinic in Pimlico.

As clinic manager, he groomed his "favourites" and formed a web of secret relationships. He convinced victims to have sex with him behind locked doors during therapy sessions.

The married nurse, posing as a powerful psychotherapist, had affairs with several women at once. His abuse was revealed when two women in his care told each other about their relationships and discovered the deceit. Britten was suspended by the mental health trust but resigned after eight women came forward to complain.

At the time, health bosses said dozens more women might have been victims. However, investigators now admit they will never know the full extent of the abuse and the inquiry will not establish it.

The clinic closed in 2001.

The letter, from trust chief executive Claire Murdoch, does not refer specifically to abuse but highlights concerns raised by staff and patients about Britten's behaviour.

Central North West trust said the letter was simply to warn vulnerable former patients that the inquiry was about to conclude, and to offer counselling.

A helpline is available for potential victims, and women are being advised to contact police. The trust said it believed all Britten's victims had now come forward, but could not discount the possibility that others had been targeted. Patients have already been in touch as a result of the letter.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: "The letter aims to give advance notice that the inquiry findings will be made public ... It is also possible that the letter may result in additional patients coming forward."

Sarah Harman, a solicitor specialising in the issue of abuse of patients, said of the letter: "This is long overdue. The evidence I have obtained is that David Britten's abuse was far more widespread than just those women who have come forward."