Decision delay blow for heart op unit
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save the children’s heart surgery unit at Glenfield Hospital have been told the decision on its fate has been delayed.
NHS England have been conducting a review on services for congenital heart defects focusing on paediatric operations and suggested the Leicester centre would no longer be used for specialist surgery.
A public consultation has ended recently with more than 6,500 people responding and a final decision on the outcome of the review was expected at the NHS England board meeting on September 28.
Now the commissioning body has said it is waiting for more information from provider trusts before making and announcement.
A letter sent out explaining the delay has been circulated by John Adler, chief executive of University Hospitals Leicester which runs the Glenfield unit.
The letter reads: “Dear colleague, as you know, the congenital heart dis- ease (CHD) consultation ended in July and we are determined to ensure careful analysis of the very full responses we have received. We are awaiting confirmation of some information supplied by provider trusts before a final recommendation can be put to our public board meeting.
“This will allow a decision on CHD services to be made at our public board meeting on November 30 2017, rather than either later this month or alternatively early next year as had previously been suggested.”
Mr Adler said: “This further delay is of course frustrating and will I appreciate cause further anxiety to patients, their families and our staff in particular. However, we do at least now appear to have a firm commitment to a decision on November 30.”
NHS England say the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre is not meeting new targets for the number of operations which it believes must be carried out to ensure quality of care.
However, the trust has submitted a plan showing in detail how the centre would meet the standards required, which is for three surgeons to deliver 375 surgical cases averaged over the last three years by 2018/19 and by 2020/21 to have four surgeons delivering 500 surgical cases. HORIBA MIRA has pioneered a fleet of unmanned construction vehicles.
The Hinckley company worked with construction machinery manufacturers JCB on the project, developing three machines capable of remote mapping, surveying and construction operations.
The all-terrain vehicle, excavator and skid steer track loader developed in the project were equipped with multiple cameras, 3D LIDAR remote sensing and GPS technology.
They are also integrated with accentral information management system to enable augmented, tele-operated and autonomous site preparation and construction.
Led by HORIBA MIRA and with support from Innovate UK, the Intelligent Autonomous Digital Construction Machine project (IADCM) launched in 2015, bringing together JCB services and Cable Deteciton Ltd.
Leica Geosystems and Leica Machine Control acted as subcontractors, while Keir and Skanska were industrial advisors.
The wider aim of the project was to research future construction techniques involving automation, information technology and machine guidance.
Its intention was also to look at better ways to create and share Building Information Managament (BIM) data on site, during the construction phase of a project.
The research will aid construction teams in streamlining processes, reducing operational costs and improving site safety.
Andy Maloney, chief engineer for Defence Solutions at HORIBA MIRA, said: “The construction industry has a need for technology solutions to improve site safety, drive efficiency and address the future operator skills shortage.
“The IADCM project responds to these needs, harnessing the latest autonomous technologies to deliver three demonstrator machines that provide a safer method for site preparation and construction.”
With the project now complete, HORIBA MIRA is looking to conduct further demonstrations and customer trials.