AN out-of-court settlement has been reached with 31 of the victims of disgraced former Kent doctor Clifford Ayling.

The group, which will share £350,000, was suing the Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority after they were abused by the GP at his surgery at Cheriton, near Folkestone, and hospitals in the county. Some will receive as much as £20,000.

The compensation news was announced on Thursday as the findings of an independent inquiry were published into how the NHS dealt with complaints about Ayling, jailed for four years for his crimes, which date back to 1971.

The report, presented to Parliament by Secretary of State for Health Dr John Reid, praised the women for their bravery and fortitude in giving evidence and said female patients should now be given a chaperone if they wanted one during intimate examinations in an effort to prevent it happening again.

It also recommends an expert group is formed by the Department of Health to draw up guidance on how the NHS should deal with sexual misbehaving by doctors and that there should be new protocols about how complaints about individual doctors are recorded.

During evidence at the inquiry, it was revealed there were 28 occasions where Ayling’s activities were questioned over a 30 year period. Each should have ended his career, but they did not.

At the same time as the events in the House of Commons, some of the women gathered at a press conference in Folkestone and told the waiting media they felt vindicated and were pleased they have made a difference for the safety of female patients in the future.