THE results of a long-awaited £13m inquiry into deaths at a Hampshire hospital are set to be released this summer.

The taxpayer-funded investigation, which is being undertaken by the Gosport Independent Panel, is looking into 90 deaths of a number of elderly patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital, on Bury Road, between 1988 and 2000.

It comes on the back of the Baker Report, which was released in 2013 and commissioned by the Department of Health, which showed that the routine use of opiate painkillers had “almost certainly” shortened the lives of some patients.

Consequently, this resulted in the commencement of an inquiry in July 2014 led by the former Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones KBE.

Bishop Jones said that families would be informed first, with information then released to help ‘public understanding’ of the events.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage said she hoped that families of those affected will get the answers they are after.

Caroline said: “For the families involved, this has been a long and hard journey.

“I have always called for openness and transparency – the families deserve nothing less.

“So I am pleased the government has fulfilled its commitment to address their concerns.

“I’m hopeful this inquiry, selected by the families as their preferred course of action, will be an important step towards finally getting the answers they have been seeking.”

Bishop Jones added: “The Gosport Independent Panel will publish its report about the historic concerns at Gosport War Memorial Hospital on June 20.

“The report will be shared first with the affected families in Portsmouth Cathedral.

“The report will deal with the families’ historical questions about the care of their relatives in Gosport War Memorial Hospital and the subsequent investigations into their deaths.”

“The report will provide an overview of the documents reviewed by the panel and will illustrate how the information disclosed adds to public understanding of these events and their aftermath.”

The news comes after the inquiry was delayed in November 2016 and May 2017, which led to anger from relatives of patients who died at the hospital.

Meanwhile, other relatives said that a public inquiry should have come much quicker.

More than 120 families came forward to give evidence to the inquiry.