Families ‘won’t travel to North East’ for child heart surgery

A SURVEY of families affected by plans to reconfigure children’s heart surgery services has revealed many from Yorkshire would not travel to the North East for treatment.

The findings deal a blow to three options which would see surgery at Leeds Children’s Hospital axed and patients from the region forced to travel to Newcastle, Liverpool or the Midlands for life-saving care.

Under a nationwide review, all hospitals carrying out surgery will need to perform a minimum of 400 heart procedures a year.

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But detailed surveys of the public and families affected by the decisions in the Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Doncaster and Hull postcode areas found only those from Hull favoured travelling to the North East.

The findings suggest surgeons at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital would treat fewer than 350 patients each year – putting them below the 400 threshold.

Analysis of an alternative option to retain services in Leeds suggests patients from the Nottingham area would also be unwilling to travel to the region – but the centre in Yorkshire would still see more than 550 patients a year.

A report for the review team said that if preferences of parents and the public were “factored into assumptions of patient flows, they may have implications for projected levels of activity at in particular the Newcastle centre”. But it said the majority of parents and the public also indicated that if they were told or advised to go to an alternative centre compared with their preferred selection then they would consider it.

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A survey of doctors found that the Leeds centre was the most highly rated in the country for the quality of its outreach network with other hospitals. The Freeman was among the lowest ranked.

Jeremy Glyde, programme director of NHS Safe and Sustainable, which is leading the review, said the analysis of patient flows would be considered carefully alongside other evidence.

In a separate development, a team of experts which visited heart surgery services around the country has refused to change its assessment of services in Leeds which it rated tenth out of 11 in the country.

In a robust response, Sir Ian Kennedy, who led the team, said claims of factual inaccuracies by hospital chiefs in Leeds were “without merit” and there was “surprise” that managers were continuing to raise concerns.

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Hospital bosses said they stood by their claims of errors in the report and maintained the issues had still not been adequately addressed.

Campaigners have vowed to continue to step up pressure ahead of a final decision in six weeks and will hold a meeting for MPs and peers in Parliament next week.

They yesterday joined Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves who won a meeting with Health Minister Simon Burns to press the case for services to be retained in Yorkshire.

A decision is due to be made by the joint committee of primary care trusts in December, although the final say is expected to rest with Ministers.

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Jon Arnold, of Methley, near Leeds, whose four-year-old daughter is a heart patient in Leeds, said the concerns of parents and patients around the region had been directly put to Mr Burns.

“While we recognise the initial decision lies with the joint committee, we wanted to seek re-assurance from the Minister that he is fully aware of the serious concerns we have,” he said.

“He gave us those re-assurances and we look forward to continuing our campaign ahead of the joint committee decision in December.”