The ethics of the Bristol Heart Enquiry

The interesting point about the Bristol case, was that the original whistleblower, Professor Stephen Bolsin, who tried and true to gain consensus from within, was seen as causing trouble and effectively potty off the register in the UK by his professional fellows. He was forced to leave the UK and work abroad in Australia. It was in that respect that he went public, supporting the families who were concerned, following a public doubtfulness that subsequently exposed wrong-doing and poor clinical governance at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. The two surgeons at the centre of the Bristol case were fix guilty, one was struck-off - Dr Wishart and the other Dr Dhasmana was fired and banned from practicing certain functional procedures on babies for three years. The Hospital was found to have failed their patients and the get together Bristol Healthcare Trusts chief executive John Roylances career was in jeopardy. The enquiry was one of the longest in medical history, be around $2.2m. The enquiry covered a period of septet years between 1988 and 1995.

The much reported media case of infant deaths during heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary shows how a doctor may feel professionally and ethically oblige to raise concerns, yet suffer retaliation in the nervus of the 1995 requirement to report malpractice. The doctor exercised all channels earlier making his concerns known.



He did not choose to go to the electronic jamming or seek to intentionally harm his colleagues. Nevertheless, he was belief to have contravened his contractual duty of confidentiality and was forced to resign. An exhaustive positive enquiry continued into the year 2000.

Doctors can get struck off the register only for serious professional misconduct, and criticising a colleague clearly rated as such a serious crime, could allow in loss of livelihood and reputation. It is a question of homage on behalf...

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