DOZENS of medical examinations conducted by a former police doctor fell below acceptable standards, according to the findings from an independent report.

Allegations of inappropriate examinations referred to Dr Reginald Bunting, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 80, having served as the force medical officer from 1990 to 1997, and continuing to work for the force until 2004.

The investigation was commissioned by Avon and Somerset after a number of retired police officers raised concerns about the way initial recruitment medical examinations were carried out between 1987 and 2004.

Concerns were first raised in April 2015, with the matter being referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who advised an investigation should be carried out, but the decision was made to examine the allegations independently.

Throughout the investigation, 835 people were spoken to, 212 witnesses provided statements and 1,734 documents were registered as part of the inquiry.

Police have accepted the findings which say that of the 112 cases examined, 44 contained elements where the medical examination “fell below a common or acceptable standard for the time”.

A further 10 cases were assessed as having fallen “woefully or grossly below common and acceptable standards of the time”.

It has also been accepted that the investigation revealed several missed opportunities where concerns had previously been raised to the constabulary, with the IPCC set to carry out their own investigation.

Deputy chief constable Gareth Morgan said: “We apologise unreservedly to all the people affected, whether they raised concerns during the investigation or not, for failing to ensure acceptable medical conduct during their examinations.

“We fully recognise and are grateful to the individuals who came forward to raise their concerns back in April last year, and for all those who subsequently shared their account. They absolutely did the right thing.

“Anyone requiring a police medical examination held on police premises by a police doctor should have had an expectation of being safe. It is clear that the conduct of some of these medical examinations fell well below this standard.

“Because Dr Bunting died in 2013, two years before this investigation was launched, he did not have the opportunity to give an account to this investigation. For this reason, we are not going to hypothesise about whether or not we would have referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of prosecution.

“Had Dr Bunting been alive, there would have been sufficient evidence to interview him under caution as a criminal suspect.

“These concerns represent an unresolved and unhealthy legacy for the Force but we hope this independent investigation represents our commitment to investigate allegations of failings, face up to them and put measures in place to make sure they don’t happen again.

“We accept all the recommendations made in the report and have already implemented a number of changes to our policies and procedures to make these changes.

“We hope that Mr Keelan’s report can offer some closure to the people who have been affected, and reaffirms to the public that we will investigate concerns about our own staff in the same robust way we would if they were made about people outside the organisation.”

The report further identifies that some of the concerns raised related to examinations carried out by a physician other than Dr Bunting, with five other doctors identified, of which one is also deceased.

None of the four doctors who are alive have been charged with any criminal offence, and police have said that at this stage, there is no intention to do so.

We have, however, decided to notify the General Medical Council about the alleged conduct for them to consider any misconduct issues and professional learning.