The Wisheart affair: paediatric cardiological services in Bristol, 1990-5

BMJ 1998;317:1144-1145 ( 24 October )

Education and debate

The Wisheart affair: paediatric cardiological services in Bristol, 1990-5

Peter M Dunn, emeritus professor of perinatal medicine and child health.

University of Bristol, Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Many colleagues, patients, and friends of James Wisheart, Janardin Dhasmana, and John Roylance will have been deeply shockedby the unjust way in which the three men have been treated. Everysympathy is due to those who have lost loved ones. However, whereasdoctors will readily understand the aggressive grief that someparents have shown, their anger should surely be reserved forthe news media (and their informants) that have misdirected thisgrief against the Bristol surgeons using a sustained stream ofbiased, misleading, and often inaccurate information. And thedefendants' explanations remained almost entirely unreported afterthey presented their case.

Table Removed (Available Only in the Full Text)

Finding the charges proved

In June 1998 the professional conduct committee of the General Medical Council announced that it had found the charges proved.But what charges? Few appreciate that many of the original chargesagainst the surgeons, including those of clinical and technicalincompetence, had either been quietly dropped or were found not. . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Was Rodney Ledward a statistical outlier? Retrospective analysis using routine hospital data to identify gynaecologists' performance: Mike Harley, Mohammed A Mohammed, Shakir Hussain, John Yates, and Abdullah Almasri
BMJ 2005 330: 929. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

The Bristol affair: James Garrett, Wendy Savage, and Robyn Cain
BMJ 1998 317: 1592. [Extract] [Full Text]

From selection to revalidation
BMJ 1998 317: 0. [Full Text] [PDF]

From selection to revalidation
BMJ 1998 317: 0. [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Harley, M., Mohammed, M. A, Hussain, S., Yates, J., Almasri, A. (2005). Was Rodney Ledward a statistical outlier? Retrospective analysis using routine hospital data to identify gynaecologists' performance. BMJ 330: 929- [Abstract] [Full text]
Silove, D., Steel, Z., Watters, C. (2000). Policies of Deterrence and the Mental Health of Asylum Seekers. JAMA 284: 604-611 [Abstract] [Full text]
Dunn, P. M, Scott, F. (1998). The Bristol affair. BMJ 317: 1659a-1659 [Full text]
Bolsin, S. N, Stewart, J. (1998). The Wisheart affair: responses to Dunn � The Bristol cardiac disaster � Editor's response to Stephen Bolsin � A patient's perspective. BMJ 317: 1579-1582 [Full text]
Garrett, J., Savage, W., Cain, R. (1998). The Bristol affair. BMJ 317: 1592a-1592 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

The Wisheart affair : paediatric cardiological services in Bristol, 1990-5: Robyn Cain
bmj.com, 5 Nov 1998 [Full text]
A television company responds: James Garrett
bmj.com, 23 Nov 1998 [Full text]
The Wisheart affair by Peter Dunn: Wendy Savage
bmj.com, 24 Nov 1998 [Full text]
The Bristol cardiac disaster: Stephen N Bolsin
bmj.com, 1 Dec 1998 [Full text]
Editor's response to Stephen Bolsin: Richard Smith
bmj.com, 1 Dec 1998 [Full text]
A patient's perspective: James Stewart
bmj.com, 1 Dec 1998 [Full text]
The Bristol case and concerns about the GMC: Richard Colman
bmj.com, 11 Dec 1998 [Full text]
Audit or be damned?: Peter West
bmj.com, 16 Dec 1998 [Full text]
Bristol - What went wrong and how can we move forward?: Maria Shortis, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Dec 1998 [Full text]
Re: The Wisheart Affair: reply to Dr. Bolsin: Peter M Dunn
bmj.com, 23 Dec 1998 [Full text]
Bristol Inquiry Web Site: John McLorinan
bmj.com, 5 Feb 1999 [Full text]
Developments in Cardiac Surgical Audit: Bruce E Keogh
bmj.com, 20 Apr 1999 [Full text]