The Bristol Inquiry

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The public inquiry into standards of heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary is expected to report in the autumn of this year.

It is set to be the longest-running and widest-ranging investigation into medical standards in the UK since the NHS was founded in 1948.

BBC News Online's health team provides analysis of the issues and events that made such an inquiry necessary.

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Why an inquiry?
Analysis of the issues facing Professor Ian Kennedy's team.

ALSO:

• Inquiry terms set
• Parents welcome scope
• Dobson launches inquiry

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The Bristol timeline
Catch up with the story so far with this focus on how the scandal developed.

KEY EVENTS:

• Doctors struck off
• Bristol's broken hearts
• Parents confront doctors

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How the scandal came to light
BBC West Health Correspondent Matthew Hill offers his view of events.

THE WIDER PICTURE:

• Further revelations due
• Bristol and beyond