MAIN THEMES PUBLISHED IN INQUIRY ISSUES LIST
The Inquiry team recently published for consultation
a list of the main themes which will be examined during the first phase
of its inquiry into children's heart surgery services at the Bristol Royal
Infirmary between 1984 and 1995.
The Issues List was for phase 1 of the Public Inquiry
which will begin in Bristol on Tuesday, March 16. Hearings on phase 1
are likely to run through to December this year and will focus on the
services which were provided in Bristol.
The formal consultation period on the draft Issues List
finished at the end of January but any further comments and suggestions
would still be welcome. The final version of the Issues List will be published
shortly.
The Issues List has been posted on the Inquiry website
and can be found by using a link from the press releases page.
The document sets out the main themes for examination
as seen by the Inquiry team. The second phase of the Inquiry will look
at wider issues arising from the Bristol experience and, potentially,
affecting the whole of the NHS. An Issues List for this second phase will
be published later in the year.
The Inquiry Chairman, Professor Ian Kennedy, said: "As
we have said from the beginning, and as people will see from the Issues
List, we are not seeking to focus on individuals but rather we are looking
at the whole system which was responsible for the management of the care
of the children needing heart surgery services."
He said: "It will not be a court, it will not be
a trial. We are not seeking to apportion blame. We are aiming to discover
what happened in Bristol, why it happened, and seeing if there are lessons
to be learned which will benefit the NHS as a whole. I have said that
this will be a fair and impartial investigation into the events at the
Bristol Royal Infirmary between 1984 and 1995."
The Issues List set out a broad range of themes including the following
areas:
- the national and regional context in which the services were delivered;
- the detailed local context - the BRI and its paediatric cardiac surgery
unit;
- the type of services provided and the outcomes;
- analysis and comparisons with similar services elsewhere;
- how children were referred to the BRI for treatment;
- management of surgery including pre and post-operative care;
- how families were treated;
- the role of post mortems;
- training of medical and other staff;
- surgical "learning curves" and audit; and
- how and when concerns were expressed and how they were dealt with
The investigation into the various operations and their
outcomes will seek to identify how procedures compared: whether they were
better or worse than those elsewhere.
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SECRETARY OF STATE APPOINTS MEDICAL MEMBER
TO INQUIRY PANEL
Secretary of State for Health, Frank Dobson, has appointed
Professor Sir Brian Jarman OBE as the medical member of the Inquiry.
The Secretary of State said: "I am pleased to be
able to appoint someone of his calibre and standing within the medical
world to the Inquiry.
He said: "He is an eminent doctor who brings broad
medical experience as both a general practitioner and an academic, as
well as specific expertise in statistics and analysis which will be useful
to an Inquiry of this nature."
Professor Jarman is Emeritus Professor at Imperial College
School of Medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, London, and a member of the
Standing Medical Advisory Committee to the Government. He is also a locum
GP at Lisson Grove Health Centre in north west London.
He was previously Head of Division, Primary Care and
Population Health Sciences, at Imperial College School of Medicine.
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a
Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and a Member of the
Faculty of Public Health Medicine.
The Inquiry panel will be backed up by a team of experts
qualified in a variety of areas of expertise such as paediatrics, cardiology,
surgery, intensive care, anaesthesia, epidemiology, statistics and management.
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DATE ANNOUNCED FOR START OF INQUIRY PUBLIC HEARINGS
The public hearings of the Inquiry to hear oral evidence
will begin on Tuesday, March 16.
The Chairman, Professor Ian Kennedy, has also announced
details of the six main blocks of evidence to be heard and the days and
times when the Inquiry will sit up until July.
The Inquiry will be opened by parents giving accounts
of their experiences - from their child's original referral through to
post-surgery. Families will be called throughout the Inquiry to contribute
to subsequent blocks of evidence.
The second block of evidence will look at the national
scene - including evidence from the Department of Health, witnesses from
the Supra-Regional services and possibly the Royal Colleges and professional
organisations.
The third block will look at the Bristol services - including
how they were set up and how the services were organised. Witnesses will
include doctors and managers from the Bristol Royal Infirmary, past and
present; and staff from the local and regional health authorities as necessary.
The Inquiry will then go on to look at the management
of the care of the children - among the issues covered will be pre-operative
care; surgery; post-operative care; post mortems; and dealings with parents.
The fifth block will look at the adequacy of the service
- including staff training; informed consent; medical and clinical audit.
The final block of evidence covers concerns raised about
surgery at the hospital between 1984 and 1995 and any failure to take
appropriate action promptly.
The Inquiry's expert witnesses will be called throughout
as necessary.
It is likely that these public oral hearings, which are
phase one of the Inquiry and focus on services in Bristol, will last until
the end of 1999. The Inquiry will also be taking written evidence.
The Inquiry will normally sit from Monday to Thursday
during this phase. Mondays will run from 10.30am to 4.30pm, the other
days will run from 9.30am to 2.15pm. A detailed breakdown of the public
hearings for the first few weeks is attached.
The Inquiry's phase 2 will then look at the wider issues
raised leading to recommendations for the benefit of the whole NHS ways
to assist the inquiry.
A list of hearing days from March to July:
|
Week commencing
|
Days sitting
|
|
15/3
|
T, W, Th
|
|
22/3
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
29/3
|
M, T, W
|
|
6/4
|
No hearings
|
|
12/4
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
19/4
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
26/4
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
3/5
|
No hearings
|
|
10/5
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
17/5
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
24/5
|
M, T
|
|
31/5
|
No hearings
|
|
7/6
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
14/6
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
21/6
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
28/6
|
No hearings
|
|
5/7
|
M, T, W, Th
|
|
12/7
|
M, T
|
|
19/7
|
M, T, W, Th
|
There will then be no hearings for the next six weeks
(commencing 26/7 to 30/8 inclusive).
Exceptionally, there may be hearings on other days.
The schedule for the Autumn will be published later in
the year.
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LOCATION ANNOUNCED FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS IN BRISTOL
The Public Inquiry oral hearings will be held on the fifth floor of offices
at 2-10 Temple Way in Bristol.
The fifth floor has been converted into a specialist
hearing chamber and there will be a variety of facilities for families
and those attending oral hearings.
The Inquiry team will also be moving to the Temple Way
offices before the start of the public hearings. Inquiry staff expect
to be in the offices by the end of February.
Until further notice, contact details for the Inquiry
team remain the same at their temporary address in London. New contact
details will be circulated nearer the time but the 0845 3000 613 local
rate call number will continue to operate while the team is in Bristol.
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ONE THOUSAND A WEEK VISIT WEBSITE
The Inquiry team's internet website is proving a popular
way for people to keep up to date with our work and progress.
One thousand people a week have been visiting the site
since it was launched in October last year.
When the full public hearings start the website will
also carry full transcripts of each day's hearings. It is expected that
the transcripts from each day will be available the same evening.
The website has information about the background to the
Inquiry, biographical details about the people on the Inquiry panel and
a large question and answer section. It is also planned to add a timetable
to show on what days, and at what times, the Inquiry is planning to sit.
.
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HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE INQUIRY TEAM:
Internet website:
www.bristol-inquiry.org.uk/
E-mail: inquiry@doh.gov.uk
Telephone: 0845 3000 613
(calls charged at local rate)
Fax: 0171 972 4602
FREEPOST ADDRESS:
Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry
Freepost, Lon 15129, London, SE1 8BR
CONTACT US IN CONFIDENCE
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO THE INQUIRY?
ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT COMING FORWARD?
YOU CAN CONTACT
PETER WHITEHURST IN CONFIDENCE BY WRITING TO OUR FREEPOST ADDRESS OPPOSITE.
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IN THE NEXT ISSUE:
The Inquiry team is making progress with its plans to provide live links
from the oral hearings in Bristol to remote locations in South Wales,
Devon and Cornwall.
We will bring you further details shortly in the next issue of the newsletter
.
Also in the next issue we will give you full contact details for the Inquiry
office in Temple Way, Bristol.
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CHAIRMAN'S THANKS FOR RETURNED QUESTIONNAIRES
Inquiry Chairman Professor Ian Kennedy has thanked all
those people who have filled in questionnaires giving their families'
experiences of child heart surgery services at the Bristol Royal Infirmary
between 1984 and 1995.
The Inquiry team is still keen to receive any further
responses from families who may have asked for a questionnaire but not
yet filled it in.
If there are any parents who have not yet received a
questionnaire but would like one, they are invited to get in touch with
the Inquiry team.
Professor Kennedy said: "I am most grateful to those
who have taken the time and trouble to assist the Inquiry in this way.
I know that we have been asking many people to relive experiences which
have been traumatic and this has been a difficult time for them. Their
assistance is very much appreciated."
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