Dr. Harold Frederick Shipman of Hyde, Manchester, murdered at least 215 of his patients over the course of 20 years. His reputation of being a caring GP in a close-knit town was a thin veil for his evil killings, he committed the ultimate betrayal in patient doctor trust and callously murdered with lethal injection, making this a crime that truly shook Britain.

Following the conviction of Shipman, an inquiry was carried out which gave a number of recommendations in regards to early detection of such malpractice, this paired with a cultural change within medicine lead to what is now known as ‘the Shipman effect’. Many doctors changed their dispensing practices and perhaps one of the biggest changes was the movement from single to multiple doctor general practices .

In January of 2004, Shipman took his own life leaving many of the victims families with a sense of having been cheated.