Surgeons were “fall guys” for a wider problem, inquiry told

Phil Hammond, author of the column in the satirical magazine Private Eye that first revealed problems in paediatric cardiac surgery in Bristol, told the inquiry into children's heart surgery services in the city that he was surprised that no official action had followed his revelations.

At the time he was a very junior doctor and did not believe that he had enough clout to raise such concerns personally. “I did not have the strength and courage to phone up Mr Wisheart or Dr Roylance or Mr Doyle at the Department of Health, or who-ever, and say: ‘I'm a senior house officer in casualty—will you please …