David Fuller is currently serving a whole life sentence for murders of Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, in Tunbridge Wells in 1987.
He was also convicted of a further 51 sexual offences after his activities at Tunbridge Wells Hospital and its forerunner the Kent and Sussex Hospital were discovered on his arrest.
Former NHS Chief Executive Sir Jonathan Michael is leading the investigation into the former hospital electrician and how he was able to abuse more than 100 bodies in mortuaries in Tunbridge Wells over a 12-year period.
Sir Jonathan has now composed his terms of reference for the inquiry after he contacted affected families and other interested parties during January and February to ask their views.
The questions Sir Jonathan is planning to answer will be split into two phases.
The first will focus on the process by which David Fuller was recruited and employed by the NHS and by private sector facilities maintenance service providers during the period 1989 to 2020, and whether appropriate and adequate checks were carried out prior to and during his employment.
He said the inquiry team will also try to determine what access Fuller was given to the mortuary, as well as to identify any other illegal or ‘inappropriate’ activities he may have committed elsewhere on the premises.
Sir Jonathan will also look into the arrangements Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust made for management of the mortuary, including security and access to safeguard the bodies of the deceased.
Phase two is set to consider whether procedures and practices in all hospital and medical settings where bodies of the deceased are kept.
The former health boss has said he will report back with his initial report to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care by the middle of 2022, and his final report with its findings and recommendations by the middle of 2023.
Sir Jonathan Michael said: “On my appointment as Chair, I made the commitment that I would seek the views of the families affected by Fuller’s actions on the Inquiry’s draft terms of reference, to ensure they remain at the heart of this investigation.
“All the families who gave consent via Kent Police to be contacted by the Inquiry, or who approached the Inquiry directly to give their consent, were contacted and invited to share their views on our draft terms of reference. I would like to extend my gratitude to families for the considered responses that we received.
“Now that the terms of reference have been published, we can begin our work to collect evidence and information both from those who have been affected, and from the organisations involved. We are already in contact with many of them.
“But I urge anyone else affected by, or with information about, the issues involved in our Inquiry to contact us as soon as possible – your views, experiences and knowledge could be vital to our work.
“My team and I are focused on pressing ahead so that families can receive the answers they need and deserve, and changes are made to prevent a recurrence of the atrocities committed by David Fuller.”
