Abstract
More than a decade ago, Professor Sir Ian Kennedy (QC) the appointed investigator for the public enquiry into children's heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary stated,
“It seems so obvious it hardly needs to be said: just as children differ from adults in terms of their physiological, psychological, intellectual and emotional development, so they differ in their healthcare needs. They experience and see the world differently. Children are in a constant state of growth and development which creates particular needs and demands which are of a different order from those affecting adult patients. Their relative physical and emotional immaturity, in comparison with adults, has implications both for the treatment which they receive and the physical environment in which they are cared for'”’ (Kennedy 2001).
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