AN inquiry will be held into the issues raised by the Kerr case. That is good news. Months have passed since the end of Dr William Kerr's trial, and it was looking worryingly as if ministers were prepared to overlook its wider implications.

Perhaps stung by that very accusation from Phil Willis, the Department of Health has finally assured the MP that an inquiry will go ahead.

The decision will delight his former patients, Harrogate and District Community Health Council, Mr Willis and everyone who has patient protection at heart. It will disappoint Dr Kerr, whose solicitor accused those calling for a public inquiry of pursuing a witch-hunt against his client.

That is not the case. Calls for an inquiry were not prompted by personal vendettas. The individual complaints against Dr Kerr have been aired fully in court.

An independent inquiry is necessary to investigate the gaping loopholes in procedure exposed by the Kerr case. It must consider what improvements have occurred in the years since Kerr assaulted a former patient, and discover what more needs to be done.

His trial revealed disturbing weaknesses in the protection of both patients and doctors that cannot be ignored. Vulnerable women were visited by Kerr at home, alone. Patients found it extremely difficult to complain, and when they did they were not believed.

These are issues of grave concern. They must be examined in detail - and in public.

Ministers have not yet committed themselves to holding the inquiry in public. They must. Above all, the Kerr case revealed the dangers of health care conducted behind closed doors. It is time to throw open those doors and to shine light on the dark corners.

Patient identity can be safeguarded within a public inquiry. Other than that, the investigation must be completely open. Otherwise public confidence in the inquiry and its recommendations will be undermined.

Updated: 10:38 Thursday, April 26, 2001