THE parents of Warminster boy Sean Turner say they have a positive way forward after NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh ordered an independent review into Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

Steve and Yolanda Turner were joined by nine other families for a three-hour meeting with Sir Bruce last Friday to discuss the failings in child cardiac services.

Sean died in 2012 from a brain haemorrhage after previously suffering a cardiac arrest – six weeks after having corrective heart surgery at the hospital.

Mr and Mrs Turner heard at an eight-day inquest last month how staff failed to pick up signs of his worsening condition on ward 32.

Sir Bruce has now asked Sir Ian Kennedy, who led the inquiry into the deaths of dozens of babies at Bristol Royal Infirmary in the 1990s, to conduct a probe led by the families.

Mrs Turner said: “It was a really positive meeting... Sir Bruce suggested the way forward was to have an independent review of the paediatric cardiac unit.

“We will now meet Sir Ian Kennedy and work out the scope of the review. It’s good that we will have control over the review and it is significant that Sir Ian will be doing it, after his previous report on the hospital.

“When he looks at the hospital again he will be met with the same failings highlighted in the first scandal. We did want a public inquiry but Sir Bruce said that can take time.

“We have had meetings where nothing happened afterwards so this is the best outcome.”

The University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust welcomed the review and hoped it would “restore trust and confidence in the service”.

But Mrs Turner added: “The trust is in a constant state of denial and its statement after the meeting was an insult to the parents, so hopefully with this review we can make sure this never happens again.”

Sir Bruce said: “We concluded the most effective action might be to put in place an independent review of the care at the trust’s paediatric cardiac unit.

“It was clear a review would need to be independent of the NHS. It must be led by the families. It must be their review.”