Saved .... at least for the time being
THE future of congenital and children’s heart surgery in Newcastle has been assured by NHS bosses for the next four years.
NHS England has been carrying out a major review into the future of heart disease services up and down the country.
And today it announced that Newcastle Hospitals NHS trust (NUTH) will be allowed to retain a level 1 congenital heart disease (CHD) centre until at least March 2021, after which it will be considered again.
NHS England wants to see children’s services based at one site in Newcastle, which could see the children’s heart unit moved from the Freeman to the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
An NHS review in 2012 ruled that Newcastle’s unit – currently at the Freeman Hospital should stay open while a unit in Leeds should close.
The Freeman Hospital is one of only two in the country that carries out heart transplants for children and it is the main hospital for transplanting hearts for adults with CHD.
NHS England acknowledges that ‘these services could not be replaced in the short term without a negative effect on patients’ and its board agreed with the view that ‘because of the way these services are intertwined we cannot make a decision on one without also making a decision on the other.’
As heart transplants were not part of NHS England’s work on CHD, its board endorsed a recommendation that NUTH should continue to provide a level 1 CHD services until at least March 2021.
This would allow further time for consideration of the commissioning approach for both the CHD and advanced heart failure and transplant services at the trust.
The announcement has been welcomed by Sunderland dad Sergio Petrucci, whose daughter Luna’s life was saved by the unit in 2015.
Luna was days short of her second birthday when her parents were told she needed immediate surgery to correct two congenital defects in her tiny heart, or she would not survive.
The family have since raised more than £155,000 for the Children’s Heart Unit Fund, the charity that helps children who spend time in the unit.
Sergio said: “It’s fantastic news – the expertise at the unit is second to none, and God knows where families would have to travel for treatment without it.
“When a facility like that is on your doorstep you don’t really appreciate it until you need it yourself. “Before Luna was born we had no idea how important it was, but there are so many families who have to be grateful for the work that they do.”
Louise Robson, director of business and development/joint acting chief executive, said: “We welcome NHS England’s decision today. It acknowledges the trust’s unique position in treating patients with some of the most complex conditions and recognises the quality of our outcomes, which are amongst the best in the country.
“We lead the way in the UK in providing treatment for infants and children with ‘end stage’ heart failure, and our clinical teams have long called for commissioners to consider the linkages between our CHD and advanced heart failure and transplant services, for both adults and children. So we are pleased by the decision today, which gives us time for further discussion with NHS England.”
Chris Gray, chief executive of the Children’s Heart Unit Fund, said: “CHUF is delighted that, as expected, Newcastle is to continue to be commissioned as a level 1 centre and that the unique national service offered for high risk patients children and adults with congenital heart disease is acknowledged by NHSE.
“CHUF is proud of its long-standing association with the unit at the Freeman Hospital and remains committed to supporting children with all types of heart disease and adults with congenital heart disease as well as their families.”
It’s fantastic news – the expertise at the unit is second to none Sergio Petrucci