Final Report > Chapter 16: The Organisation of the Paediatric Cardiac Surgical Service in Bristol > Referral to the cardiologists in Bristol

Referral to the cardiologists in Bristol

5 The patient's journey to the BRI begins at the point of referral, by local paediatricians through outreach clinics and by GPs, to the cardiologists in Bristol. The cardiologist would first see the child either at the BRHSC or at one of the outreach cardiology clinics, for an opinion or investigation. If the cardiologist considered that surgery was likely to be required, the child would be referred to a paediatric cardiac surgeon, usually one of the Bristol cardiac surgeons.

6 To assess how the Bristol Unit was regarded by doctors who referred on children with heart disease, the Inquiry contacted consultant paediatricians and cardiologists who had been based within the Bristol catchment area during the period of the Inquiry's Terms of Reference, seeking their comments on their referral practices. We received replies from 72 consultant paediatricians who were based in hospitals in the South West of England and in South Wales during the period 1984-1995. Many (29) stressed that their referrals were to the Bristol cardiologists, not to the Bristol surgeons, and thus the important relationship was with the Bristol cardiologists. We found no indication in their evidence of any lack of trust or lack of confidence in the Bristol cardiologists. Indeed, a number of the referring paediatricians told the Inquiry that they held the Bristol cardiologists in very high regard.

7 Professor David Baum, then President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told us:

`I would say there are competent consultant trained cardiologists on this corridor who are my colleagues whom I trust through their training and I trust them as individuals, and that I will refer the care of this baby... It was not a part of the mindset of the time to inquire into the quality of surgical outcomes.' [4]

Footnotes

[4] T18 p.370-4 Professor Baum