Youth plans to sue heart hospital

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A teenager plans to sue the Bristol Royal Infirmary claiming heart surgery he had there as a baby left him with heart problems and brain damage.

Lee Philips, 18, is taking action over operations carried out between 1988 and 1995 by surgeon Janardan Dhasmana.

Mr Dhasmana was one of the doctors at the centre at the Bristol heart baby scandal, which involved high paediatric death rates in the 1990s.

The United Bristol Healthcare Trust said it was aware of the case.

"The case is being dealt with by the NHS Litigation Authority, which deals with all claims on behalf of NHS trusts," a spokesperson said.

The trust added that it was working with its own experts to provide a response, which would be filed at the High Court in due course.

Mr Phillips is now 18 and lives in Hartcliffe.

He claims that early investigations into a heart murmur were not carried out properly, the wrong kind of procedures were undertaken and that there was a lack of surgical skill and experience.

The heart baby scandal, uncovered by a whisteblowing anaesthetist, lead to a public inquiry. It found that between 1991 and 1995 the mortality rate for open heart surgery on children under one in Bristol was probably double the rate for England, and even higher for children under 30 days.

A government report concluded that between 30 and 35 children who underwent heart surgery at the hospital between those years died unnecessarily as a result of sub-standard care.

Mr Dhasmana was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the GMC and banned from operating from children for three years after the heart baby scandal was exposed.

He was also sacked by the trust.