PlayThe families of elderly hospital patients who died after being given excessive doses of drugs have demanded a public inquiry.
An inquest jury ruled that medication contributed to the deaths of five people at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital in Hampshire more than ten years ago.
The jury found that drugs given to Robert Wilson, 74, Elsie Devine, 88, Geoffrey Packman, 67, Elsie Lavender, 83, and Arthur Cunningham, 79, (known as Brian), made a "more than minimal" contribution to their deaths.
Three different expert witnesses said Mr Wilson, Mr Packman and Mr Cunningham had been given excessive doses of the opiate diamorphine.
The panel also found that the use of painkillers was inappropriate in the cases of Mr Wilson, Ms Devine and Mr Packman. But the jury ruled that the medication had been administered for therapeutic reasons in all five cases.
The jury found that medication had not contributed to the deaths of the other five patients - Leslie Pittock, 82, Helena Service, 99, Ruby Lake, 84, Enid Spurgin, 92, and Sheila Gregory, 91.
The inquest heard that each of the ten patients went to the community hospital for palliative care but all died there.
The jury heard evidence from members of the patients' families, medical experts and staff at the hospital, including Dr Jane Barton, who was in charge of care but who has not been charged with any offence.
Hampshire Police carried out a series of investigations into the treatment of 92 patients at GWMH in the late 1990s but no action was taken.
The families of those who died believe that sedatives like diamorphine were over-prescribed at the hospital and this led to the deaths of their relatives.
Robert Wilson's son Iain told the inquest his father had broken his arm but made a good recovery at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth before being transferred to Gosport, where his condition deteriorated and he died four days later.
Mr Wilson said: "I went to give him a cuddle and he spoke his last words to me: 'Help me son, they are killing me.' I said 'No they are not Dad, they are trying to do the best for you' and I left him there. When I went in the following day, he was in a coma."
Mr Cunningham's step-son Charles Farthing told the inquest the ward was known as "death ward" and that he believed his step-father had been "intentionally executed".
Speaking outside Portsmouth Coroner's Court in a press conference, the families of some of the patients called for a new police probe as well as a public inquiry.
Dr Jane Barton, who works as a GP, said in a statement: "I have always acted with care, concern and compassion towards my patients. I am pleased the jury recognised that in all of these cases, drugs were only given for therapeutic purposes."
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