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Member of Parliament for Bradford East@DavidWardMP on Twitter and Facebook |
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David Ward MP <>
David calls for pause in heart surgery plans
May 27, 2011 5:14 PM
Bradford East MP, David Ward, has hit out at plans which could see the end of children's heart surgery in Leeds, pointing to "serious flaws" in the consultation process.
The NHS's "Safe and Sustainable" review of the 11 children's heart surgery units in England has recommended a reduction in the number of units to create fewer, larger centres. It has put forward four options for a four-month public consultation period, with the unit at Leeds General Infirmary featuring in only one option.The Leeds Unit serves more than 5.5 million people across the region, which is one of the highest catchment areas of any children's heart surgery unit. All its services are on one site and it has an excellent record for safe, high quality surgery.
David has already backed a Parliamentary motion calling on the Government to keep the Leeds unit open and has now written to Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, calling for a pause in the review process while "serious flaws" are addressed.
Commenting, David Ward said:
"There is a real concern that the options in the consultation are based on reports which contain major factual errors, and that is why I am calling for this pause. The review has failed to take into account the fact that Bradford has amoung the highest birth rates in the country and the high rates of congenital heart conditions that we see here.
"The business case for including Newcastle instead of Leeds assumes that people from West Yorkshire will choose to travel to Newcastle rather than Liverpool, when anyone who lives in the area knows that this is not the case. The consultation process has also been farcical. Expecting busy parents and families to read and comment on a complex 200 page document seems completely unrealistic.
"I do agree we need to ensure such specialist health services are in the best locations, but this needs to be based on the best possible evidence with proper consultation of the communities affected. I am asking Andrew Lansley to intervene to put the review on hold so that serious flaws in the process can be addressed before going forward."
An online petition has already attracted over 35,000 signatures and is available to sign herehttp://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/help-to-save-ward-10-childrens-cardiac-lgi/