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The Bristol heart scandal occurred in England during the 1980s and 1990s. At the
Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Brist ...
, babies died at high rates after cardiac surgery. An inquiry found "staff shortages, a lack of leadership, ... unit ... 'simply not up to the task', ... 'an old boy's culture' among doctors, a lax approach to safety, secrecy about doctors' performance and a lack of monitoring by management". The scandal resulted in cardiac surgeons leading efforts to publish more data on the performance of doctors and hospitals. It was the subject of '' Innocents'', a 2000 television drama.


Concerns raised by Stephen Bolsin

Anaesthetist Stephen Bolsin joined the BRI team in 1988 and noticed high surgical mortality rates. As early as 1991, he raised concerns with high-ranking individuals at the trust and also contacted the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
, the
Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...
, and the
Royal Colleges Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...
. He was largely ignored until 1995, when Joshua Loveday died during a complex heart operation performed by Janardan Dhasmana, who overruled advice from Bolsin. Subsequently, Bolsin emigrated to Australia, where he was praised for raising issues about the mortality rates at BRI and was promoted to professor. He was awarded the
Royal College of Anaesthetists The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) is the professional body responsible for the specialty of anaesthesia throughout the United Kingdom. It sets standards in anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, and for the training of anaesth ...
Frederic Hewitt Medal in 2013 in recognition of his contribution to patient safety, and received the
Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...
in the
2025 Birthday Honours The 2025 King's Birthday and Operational Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Charles III, King Charles III to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good ...
for service to medicine as an anaesthetist.


Estimated surgical outcomes

In five years (19911995), 34 children under one year of age died in the unit, who are believed would have survived in other NHS units. Overall, 170 children died in the Bristol unit between 1986 and 1995 who would have survived in other NHS hospitals, as estimated by Laurence Vick, the lawyer most closely involved in the Bristol scandal. The same expert estimates that 2530 children suffered permanent brain damage after cardiac surgery by the Bristol surgeons over the same 10-year timespan.


Public inquiry

An investigation – the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry – chaired by Professor Ian Kennedy QC was set up in 1998. It covered the period 1984 to 1995, and was later described as "the biggest public inquiry ever undertaken into the workings of the NHS". The inquiry reported in 2001, concluding that paediatric cardiac surgery services at Bristol were "simply not up to the task" because of shortages of key surgeons and nurses, and a lack of leadership, accountability, and teamwork. It found an ' old boy's culture' among doctors, a lax approach to safety, secrecy about doctors' performance and a lack of monitoring by management. Janardan Dhasmana, one of the surgeons, told the inquiry "Whenever you start any new operation you are bound to have, unfortunately, high mortality".


Retention of organs

Helen Rickard, the mother of an 11-month-old who died during heart surgery at Bristol in 1992, discovered in 1996 or 1997 that the hospital had kept the baby's heart; she began a campaign and set up a support group for affected parents. Evidence in September 1999 to the Bristol inquiry from Robert Anderson, a heart specialist at
Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...
, revealed that several hospitals retained some organs from babies who died during surgery, for research and education purposes, often without the consent of the parents; a practice called 'organ harvesting' by the BBC. Anderson mentioned that
Alder Hey Children's Hospital Alder Hey Children's Hospital is a children's hospital and NHS foundation trust in West Derby, Liverpool, England. It is one of the largest children's hospitals in the United Kingdom, and one of several specialist hospitals within the Liverpool ...
in Liverpool held a large number of hearts, and in December 1999 the government set up an inquiry into what became known as the
Alder Hey organs scandal The Alder Hey organs scandal in Liverpool, England, involved the unauthorised removal, retention, and disposal of human tissue, including children's organs, during the period 1981 to 1996. Organs were retained in more than 2,000 pots"Pot", in ...
. Outcomes included the setting up in 2001 of the Retained Organs Commission, which arranged for the return of stored organs and made recommendations for improvement in areas including consent, handling of body parts and tissue samples, and post-mortem methods; and revised consent legislation – the
Human Tissue Act 2004 The Human Tissue Act 2004 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that applied to England, Northern Ireland and Wales, which consolidated previous legislation and created the Human Tissue Authority to "regulate the removal, st ...
– which led to the creation of the
Human Tissue Authority The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It regulates the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue for a number ...
.


Aftermath

The scandal accelerated efforts to provide patients with data on the performance of doctors and hospitals. The NHS Plan 2000, published a year earlier, included the establishment of the
Commission for Health Improvement The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom from 2001 until 2004, when its functions were subsumed by the Healthcare Commission. CHI was established b ...
which was intended to tackle clinical performance issues. The
General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...
found Dhasmana and another surgeon, James Wisheart, guilty of serious professional misconduct for continuing to do two types of complex operation despite high death rates. Wisheart was 'struck off' by the GMC, as was John Roylance, the chief executive of United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust. Dhasmana, a relatively junior surgeon, was banned from operating on children for three years and lost his job at Bristol Royal Infirmary. Roylance – a radiologist who was approaching retirement age – stepped down from his chief executive post as the GMC investigation began, amid accusations he had ignored warnings from whistleblower Steve Bolsin. His appointment as
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, which had been made in 1994, was revoked in 2001. Four of the parents of children who died in the 1990s in the heart scandal would go on to commit suicide, including Bert Loveday, the father of Joshua Loveday, who after spiralling into depression and crime hung himself at
Winson Green Prison HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service. History HM Prison Birmingham was formerly called Winson Green Prison. It is a Victorian prison, des ...
, Birmingham; and in 1994 Andy, partner of campaigner Helen Rickard.


In media

In October 2000, before the public inquiry concluded,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
broadcast a medical drama titled '' Innocents''. The film was based on interviews with the parents of babies who were operated on, and was part of a short season called "Doctors on Trial".


Subsequent decline of mortality rates

The mortality rate within 30 days of a child's heart operation in the UK fell from 4.3% in 2000 to 2.6% in 2009. Plans to reduce the number of centres performing children's heart surgery have been opposed. A report to
NHS England NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning si ...
in July 2015 proposed a "three tier" model for all hospitals providing congenital heart disease care. It suggested that they would work within "regional, multi-centre networks, bringing together foetal, children’s and adult services" and noted that since 2001 there "have been subsequent reviews each making a series of recommendations, but no coordinated programme of change, and concerns have remained".


See also

*
Alder Hey organs scandal The Alder Hey organs scandal in Liverpool, England, involved the unauthorised removal, retention, and disposal of human tissue, including children's organs, during the period 1981 to 1996. Organs were retained in more than 2,000 pots"Pot", in ...
*
Criticism of the National Health Service (England) Criticism of the National Health Service (England) includes issues such as access, waiting lists, healthcare coverage, and various scandals. The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded health care system of England, created under ...
*
Martha's Rule Martha's Rule is a patient safety initiative implemented in English NHS hospitals from April 2024. It gives patients, families, carers and staff in hospitals who have concerns about a patient's deteriorating condition access to a rapid review from ...
*
Stafford Hospital scandal The Stafford Hospital scandal concerns poor care and high mortality rates amongst patients at the Stafford Hospital, Stafford, England, during the first decade of the 21st century. The hospital was run by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Tr ...


References


External links


Official Inquiry website (in the UK Government Web Archive)
{{Healthcare in Bristol 1990 disasters in the United Kingdom Heart scandal 1998 in England 1998 in medicine 1998 scandals Health disasters in the United Kingdom Heart scandal Hospital scandals Medical scandals in the United Kingdom Public inquiries in the United Kingdom