Royal Brompton unit faces closure

Hospital secures backing of London assembly, which says there is no medical reasoning to support cuts to services The Royal Brompton hospital in London is seeking a judicial review in an attempt to block the closure of its children’s heart surgery unit as part of plans for a major reorganisation of the NHS. Its efforts to stay open have been backed by the London assembly, which passed a motion opposing the move and will be putting its concerns to the health secretary, Andrew Lansley. The proposal to close the Brompton unit – moving the work to Great Ormond Street and the Evelina children’s hospital at Guy’s and St Thomas’ – is part of a rationalisation of children’s heart surgery that has been under discussion for a decade. A reduction in the number of NHS hospitals performing complex operations on children’s hearts was recommended 10 years ago by the Kennedy inquiry into the deaths of babies at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Sir Ian Kennedy concluded that surgeons became more expert the more of the same type of operation they carried out, and that too many hospitals in England did not see enough children with complex heart conditions to provide a safe service. The 11 hospitals in England performing children’s heart surgery are to be reduced to six or seven under proposals under consultation from the joint committee of primary care trusts. London, it says, needs two children’s heart surgery units rather than three. Proposals to close any hospital service almost always provoke strong reactions, often from patients or relatives but also from doctors, local politicians and the general public. The Brompton argues that closure of its children’s heart surgery will have a detrimental impact on other services. “Of major concern to the trust is the effect that the removal of paediatric cardiac care would have on other services – for children and for adults,” said chief executive Bob Bell earlier this month. “Paediatric cardiac services do not exist in a vacuum. They are supported by other disciplines such as intensive care and anaesthesia.” Ending children’s heart surgery would lead to the closure of the Brompton’s paediatric intensive care unit, he said. The entire paediatric unit would be destabilised, threatening its specialist children’s cystic fibrosis service. There would also be a damaging impact on adult heart surgery, he added. The Brompton said the three London hospitals had submitted a proposal instead to pool their services. It is pursuing a judicial review of the reconfiguration process. The London assembly unanimously carried a motion to object to the closure. “This specialist unit at the Royal Brompton has saved the lives of so many children in London and continues to be a vital service for many families. The proposal to close it has come at the eleventh hour, with no medical reasoning to support it,” claimed Victoria Borwick, who proposed the motion. Health Children London Andrew Lansley Health policy Public sector cuts NHS Sarah Boseley guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 17, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.