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Today's Date

September 7 1999:

Incidences at Alder Hey revealed during the Bristol Public Inquiry when Professor Robert Anderson announced that Alder Hey has "probably the biggest and best collection" of hearts in the country.

 

October 6, 1999:

It emerges that other organs have been stockpiled in a laboratory belonging to the University of Liverpool. Hospital bosses blame Dutch born pathologist and cot death expert Professor Dick van Velzen who carried out post-mortems on children who died at the hospital between 1989 and 1995. Government order an inquiry and the Chief Medical Officer orders a national overview of organ retention.

 

October 14 1999:

Parent support group (PITY II) set up in Liverpool by Joan Wheeler, who lost her baby son Karl 27 years before. Professor van Velzen reveals that the practice had been going on since long before he arrived there.

 

December 3 1999:

Liverpool coroner Andre Rebello opens an inquest into the death of Kayleigh Valentine whose organs were taken without consent. He calls the scandal "absolutely outrageous." Later that day Health Minister Alan Milburn announces an independent inquiry and the parent support group PITY II (named because they have interred their children twice) hold their second meeting.

 

December 21 1999:

Alder Hey hospital releases its own internal report - admitting practices were "unacceptable".

 

February 7 2000:

Independent Inquiry chaired by Michael Redfern QC starts. It is due to report back later in the summer, but this is subsequently delayed as new revelations come to light.

 

March 16 2000:

Alder Hey admits they accidentally disposed of the organs of Stephen White just days before his parents were due to hold a second funeral. Alan Milburn demands that trust secretary Frank Taylor resigns. He does so.

 

March 24 2000:

Judith Greensmith, chair of Liverpool Health Authority, who took over as acting chair on the 22nd of March, promises a new era of openness at the hospital. Chief Executive Hilary Rowlands goes on extended leave from her position and is replaced by acting chief executive Tony Bell.

 

August 15 2000:

Parents say "We are battered by new disasters" as store of brain tissues discovered.

 

September 30 2000:

Police in Canada issue a warrant for the arrest of Professor van Velzen following the discovery of child body parts in a lock-up storage garage in Nova Scotia. And review into cardiac unit at Alder Hey shows that quality of surgeons "extremely high", but that post-operative death rate of surgeon Roger Franks for the "switch" operation is almost three times the national average.

 

October 30 2000:

BMA issues guidelines on obtaining consent.

 

November 28 2000:

Parents learn that hospital has retained up to 400 foetuses without consent.

 

January 11 2001:

Professor Liam Donaldson holds summit in London designed to produce guidelines to prevent another Alder Hey. It emerges that the organs of 3,500 children were removed without parental knowledge or consent.

 

January 26 2001:

Alder Hey admits having given thymus glands removed from live children during heart operations to pharmaceutical company in return for cash donations.

 

January 29 2001:

Alan Milburn promises parents' consent will be required in future.

 

January 30 2001:

Redfern inquiry report is published in the House of Commons - click the icon of the report at the top right of this page to read the speech by the Secretary of State for Health.

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