Parents ‘let down’ by Bristol children’s hospital

An independent review of children’s cardiac services in Bristol has concluded that parents were ‘let down’ by poor quality of care.

The ‘Bristol Review’ was commissioned by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh in 2014, and chaired by Eleanor Grey QC.

Through the course of the review 237 families whose children were treated at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children were contacted, with the team analysing over 6,000 documents from the the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England and former commissioning bodies, as well holding 50 meetings with members of staff.

The review highlighted that nursing staff were regularly under pressure, with staffing and skills shortages leading to poor care for patients and poor communication with parents and families.

Additionally, the review advised that senior managers of the hospital failed to ‘understand and respond effectively to the concerns of parents’, as well as taking an ‘unnecessarily defensive position’ in the face of Care Quality Commission observations.

Eleanor Grey QC, chair of the Bristol Review, said: “This report is the result of two years of meticulous work. We gathered a vast amount of information from families, staff and experts. I wish to express my gratitude to them for their involvement and co-operation.

“The review's focus has been on the families who came forward and shared with us their experience of the treatment their children received. Some received good care and had good outcomes. Others did not. Our work has centred on the issues raised by the children whose treatment was complex and who experienced complications, and for whom in many cases the outcomes were poor. I want to express my sincere thanks to all the families, in particular to those for whom recounting their experience was painful.

“We have made 32 recommendations in our report. They require action not just on the part of the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children but also NHS England and the Department of Health.

“I hope and expect that they will be implemented in full, and as swiftly as possible.”