Cardiac unit facing inquiry
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The work of a heart surgeon in a health trust reporting a higher- than-average number of paediatric cardiac deaths will be investigated, it was announced yesterday.
James Wisheart has voluntarily stepped down from clinical duties and as medical director of the United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust (UBHT) to co-perate with an independent review.
There is no suggestion of any individual culpability at this stage but the investigation follows several years of controversy at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
Mr Wisheart was one of only two surgeons to operate on babies using a complicated "switch" procedure to correct misplaced major arteries.
The operations were halted last year after an internal audit revealed higher-than-average deaths among children between 1990 and 1995.
Child surgery was transferred to the nearby Royal Hospital for Sick Children amid criticism from some parents that they would never have given permission for the surgery had they known about the mortality rate.
The trust ordered a review, which revealed friction among staff over the number of deaths but did not apportion blame.
In the wake of the findings, a separate inquiry was set up in April this year into the adult cardiac unit, which remained at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
Preliminary findings, based on case notes of 2,500 patients 1993-1995, showed that the adult unit's overall performance was in line with the national average, the UBHT said yesterday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments