Heart surgery shake-up now one step closer

But the Court of Appeal decision has also triggered an angry row over the legal bill for court action by a NHS trust which is believed to have cost £1.2m.

Bosses at the Royal Brompton in west London claim that plans to reconfigure children’s heart surgery could put its future in jeopardy if services are switched to two other centres in the capital.

They had won a High Court ruling quashing the consultation in November but yesterday the Court of Appeal declared the “consultation process cannot be said to be unfair”.

Health chiefs will announce the future location of children’s heart surgery centres, which could see services in Leeds axed, on July 4.

The legal action was triggered after NHS officials said their preferred option was for only two centres in London, with the Royal Brompton losing out.

In a joint ruling yesterday, the judges spoke of the “excellence” of its services.

They added: “A member of the public might well find it difficult to understand why a centre of the standard of the Royal Brompton should cease to be a centre for paediatric cardiac surgical services under the configuration exercise.”

Former national heart czar Sir Roger Boyle described the ruling as “an important milestone for children with congenital heart disease as it brings improvements to their services a step closer”.

He added: “It is novel for one part of the NHS to take another part to court at such a huge cost. We know the cost to Brompton will be in the region of £1.2m, plus interest, which need not have been spent.”

Anne Keatley-Clarke, of the Children’s Heart Federation, said she was “horrified” at the bill.

She added: “Because of the uncertainty, many trusts have stopped investing in paediatric services, which has resulted in children having their life-saving operations cancelled at the last minute.”

The Royal Brompton said: “We tried hard to avoid the legal route, but when serious assaults are made on patient care, when internationally acclaimed clinical teams are effectively put on notice, when ground-breaking research teams who may be on the cusp of a significant breakthrough in cystic fibrosis tell us their research will not be possible under the proposals put forward, drastic measures are called for.

“We had to fight to protect the needs of patients – now and in the future. What better cause is there than the health of vulnerable children?”

Sir Neil McKay, who chairs the committee which will make the final decision, said the Royal Brompton’s action “has delayed an open and honest process of consultation and has been frustrating to many of us”.

Of the latest ruling, he said: “It means that we can now take into account the evidence submitted to us by the many thousands of people and organisations in what was the biggest public consultation ever undertaken by the NHS.

“It is only right all of these voices can be heard.”

Officials would consider a number of new options proposed that included “the surgical centres in Leeds, Leicester and Southampton amongst others”.