Children's hospital care has long been regarded by many practitioners as a 'cinderella' service housed in inappropriate old buildings with patients treated not as children but as 'mini-adults', and often cared for by clinicians without the necessary specialist knowledge.
Regrettably, it took the scandal over the deaths of 29 babies undergoing heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in the 1980s and 1990s and the subsequent Kennedy inquiry to rouse Government concern, shake up the NHS establishment and kickstart the process of reform.
The Kennedy inquiry, which unearthed a lax approach to clinical safety and a low priority for children's services, led to the publication of the National Service Framework (NSF) for children and the creation of the Healthcare Commission (see box).
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