An Eastbourne woman has welcomed orders for a top-level inquiry into the deaths of 13 elderly people in a community hospital.

Gillian Mackenzie's mother Gladys Richards, 91, died at the hospital during a six-week rehabilitation period after undergoing a hip operation in 1998.

Now, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government's chief medical officer, has ordered a special inquiry into death rates at 108-bed Gosport War Memorial Hospital, Hampshire.

Professor Richard Baker, from Leicester University, who compiled a detailed analysis of killer GP Harold Shipman, will quiz staff and investigate patterns of death at the hospital.

Mrs Mackenzie, 68, from Eastbourne, said she hoped the investigation would uncover the truth about the death of her mother, from Lee-on-Solent, Hants.

She said: "My family has been through a great deal of emotional turmoil since my mother's death and we hope this inquiry will bring everything out into the open."

A police investigation carried out between 1998 and 2001 following relatives' concerns over patients' care found nothing of serious concern.

But in July, government inspectors criticised Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust, the authority which ran the hospital until April, for excessive use of pain-relieving and sedative drugs.

Patients were put at risk but inspectors from the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) could not say whether anyone died as a result of their treatment.

The inspectors' report was sparked by allegations from Mrs Richards' family, who said she died unlawfully in August 1998.

In a statement Sir Liam said: "Even though both previous investigations found no grounds for serious concern, neither was in a position to establish whether trends and patterns of death were out of line with what would be expected.

"It was a wish to ensure all necessary investigation was carried out that led to the decision to carry out this further investigation.

"The CHI report found that during 1998 there was no effective monitoring of the levels of prescription of medicines, and that some patients were prescribed strong pain relief on admission before a total assessment of their needs was made."

The hospital has since adopted new procedures under its new management, the Fareham and Gosport and East Hampshire Primary Care Trusts.

When the findings of the CHI report were published in July, its chief executive, Peter Homa, said: "Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust failed to have the appropriate systems in place in 1998 to monitor the practise of some staff at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.

"It failed to recognise a potential risk to patients, many of whom were frail, older people, from the levels of analgesia being prescribed.

"As a result, it did not carry out a proper review of prescribing and excessive medication wasn't questioned."