"THIS drastic and ill-thought out action has had far-reaching consequences for patients and their families".
These are the words of campaigners trying to save the closure of Leeds Children's Heart Unit in response to Elspeth Brown, a cardiologist consultant at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, who said the data used to suspend children's cardiac surgery at the hospital was "incomplete".
As reported on www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk, the medical director of the NHS, Sir Bruce Keogh, and senior Care Quality Commission managers suspended surgery at Leeds General Infirmary on Thursday, after it had emerged that there were higher than average mortality rates.
However Mrs Brown has today said "that the figures that were presented were simply wrong, they were incomplete and did not include all the operations in Leeds".
She also added that they are confident that their mortality figures are well within what would be expected and all the clinicians in Leeds are very happy with figures at present.
In response to this, officials at Save Our Surgery (SOS) – the Grimsby Telegraph backed campaign – say "It is now clear that there are serious errors in the data used as the initial justification for suspending children's heart surgery in Leeds."
Sharon Cheng, of SOS, said: "In short, the numbers were wrong and NHS managers did not bother to verify them or ask the standard questions before moving to force the Unit to suspend surgery.
"Children whose operations were due in the next few days are now back in a state of uncertainty, with parents understandably extremely concerned.
"If, as it seems, this situation was unnecessary, and motivated by political rather than patient-safety concerns, then this is a disgrace.
" We are calling on the individuals responsible to account for their actions and to resume surgical operations in Leeds as soon as the situation is clarified."
