Hunt suspends closure of Leeds heart unit

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Mr Hunt said that plans to close the unit in Leeds and others in Leicester and west London were to be put on hold after an independent review suggested that the consultation process was based on “flawed analysis”.

The “Safe and Sustainable” Review, which concluded that Leeds General Infirmary (LGI), Glenfield Hospital in Leicester and the Royal Brompton in west London should stop providing paediatric cardiac surgery, has been heavily criticised and campaigners have fought ferociously against the closure of the units.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hunt said he had asked NHS England to continue with the process of looking into the reorganisation of children’s heart surgery and asked them to report back by the end of July.

Before Mr Hunt made his announcement, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I think we have to be frank with people that we can’t expect really technical surgery - like children’s heart operations, to be carried out at every hospital in the country.

“As the parent of a desperately ill child, wanting to get the best care for that child, you need to know that you’re getting something that is world best.

“For really technical operations you can’t get that everywhere.

“Clearly the conclusion is that this process, which started in 2008, hasn’t been carried out properly so we need to make a re-start.”

Campaigners in Leeds fought a successful battle in the High Court and the situation was thrown into sharp focus by a controversy earlier this year when children’s heart surgery was stopped for almost a fortnight at the LGI when fears were raised about success rates.

This provoked outrage from the Leeds campaigners and local politicians who feared this decision was linked to the bigger issue of which units would stay open nationally.

Mr Hunt asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) to look again at the original review.

The IRP’s report is expected to be published later, after Mr Hunt’s announcement.

Jon Arnold, a trustee of the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund at the LGI whose daughter Zoe, six, was treated at the hospital, said: “After a three-year campaign led by parents and patients in our region we’re hopeful that the public’s voice will be listened to.

“More than 600,000 people signed a petition to keep the surgery at the unit in Leeds and a High Court judge ruled the decision to end surgery there was unlawful.

“Our families and supporters have everything crossed that common sense has prevailed and that Jeremy Hunt has decided to let the staff at the unit keep on doing what they do best - saving lives.”

The original decision to close the three units was part of a general review of services across England based on the premise that there was need to concentrate expertise in more specialist centres.

The plan was to reduce the current 10 units to seven.

The campaign in Leeds focused on how a huge region would be left without any local services, leaving families with long trips to either Newcastle or Liverpool with extremely sick children.

They took their protest to the High Court and a senior judge quashed the process in March.

Mrs Justice Nicola Davies said aspects of the Leeds consultations were flawed and “ill judged”.

But the Leeds campaigners’ joy over the judgment turned to dismay a day later when serious questions were raised about death rate figures and other alleged problems at the LGI unit and surgery was suspended.

This decision was made just before Easter after an intervention by Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England.

Later, Sir Bruce said death rate figures were among a “constellation of reasons’’ the decision was made.

But medical bodies, doctors and other experts questioned the accuracy of the data used to support the suspension of surgery.

After more than a week of high-profile controversy, surgery was resumed amid calls from angry MPs and parents for an inquiry into what happened.