Q&A: Jimmy Savile hospital abuse

A series of reports have described how Jimmy Savile targeted patients and workers at hospitals in England and Wales over 50 years.

His victims ranged from five years old to pensioners, and he attacked men, women, girls and boys.

The health secretary has apologised to victims and admits they have been "let down badly".

Some of the details in this article are disturbing.

Who was Jimmy Savile?

He was a Radio 1 DJ, but he was probably best known for presenting Top of the Pops. He fronted the first episode in 1964 and re-appeared for the last weekly show in 2006.

He often presented programmes aimed at teenagers and children, especially Jim'll Fix It.

Each week he would "fix it" for young viewers to have their wishes come true.

He was a larger than life character, with outlandish hair, colourful clothes and flashy jewellery.

But even though he was seen as quirky, he was respected as a charity campaigner.

He was awarded the OBE in 1971 and was knighted in 1990.

Jimmy Savile raised millions of pounds for charity through his lifetime

How did the sex abuse stories come out?

There were rumours about him abusing children during his lifetime.

In 2007 and 2008 he was questioned over claims dating back to the 1970s. But there wasn't enough evidence to take it any further.

It's now come out that if authorities had taken victims seriously, he could have been prosecuted in 2009.

He died in 2011. A year later, ITV broadcast a documentary called Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile.

Several women claimed he sexually abused them when they were underage. This triggered more and more claims against him.

Why was Jimmy Savile linked to hospitals?

He was associated with hospitals all the way through his career. He worked on the radio station at Leeds General Infirmary.

Over the years he returned as a fundraiser and volunteer porter.

Now 28 NHS sites across England and Wales have looked into abuse claims about Jimmy Savile. Most reported one or two cases.

But two hospitals in particular had many more stories.

What did the report from Leeds General Infirmary say?

60 people, both staff and patients, came forward and said they had been abused by Jimmy Savile. Some were rude comments, or inappropriate touching. There were three rape claims.

The age of victims ranged from five to 75, but most were teenagers.

The first case happened in 1962, when the presenter was 36. The last claim investigators heard about was in 2009. He was 82 years old.

Nine of the victims did tell staff what was going on, but they weren't taken seriously. Senior managers were never told.

Jimmy Savile often worked with young people at charity events and on television

Did he abuse dead bodies?

This is one of the most disturbing claims to come out of this. The report chairwoman said he had an "unwholesome interest in the dead".

She told how one woman said that when she was a student nurse at Leeds General Infirmary, Jimmy Savile told her he would go down to the mortuary and have sex with dead bodies.

There were also claims that he wore rings "made from the glass eyes of dead bodies at the mortuary".

The report says there is no way of telling if this is true or not but that controls on people going into the morgue weren't strict enough.

What was his connection with Broadmoor?

Jimmy Savile was linked with Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital from 1968 onwards. He had a set of keys, an office and living quarters at the high security facility.

He had an official role there, heading up a task force about patient welfare.

The report looked into 11 claims of sexual abuse, and told how Jimmy Savile would watch and comment as female patients showered.

Investigators think the real number of cases there could well be much higher, because many former patients would want to forget their time there.

Jimmy Savile met high-profile celebrities through his charity work

What has the reaction been?

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has described him as "a sickening and prolific sexual abuser who repeatedly exploited the trust of a nation for his own vile purposes".

He apologised on behalf of the government and the NHS to all victims.

The solicitor representing many of Savile's victims says there needs to be a change in the law so that staff have to report suspicions of abuse.

Is this the end of this story?

Sadly not. Another hospital was due to report back too, but now it has been given fresh evidence.

The BBC is also expected to release information later in the year, looking at what Jimmy Savile did in its buildings.

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