Unforgivable folly
Top surgeons’ damning verdict as they declare war on NHS chiefs’ bid to axe world-renowned children’s heart unit
TWO of Britain’s most eminent surgeons today make an impassioned plea to halt the closure of a world-leading NHS heart service that has saved the lives of thousands of children.
Cancer surgeon Lord Darzi and heart transplant pioneer Sir Magdi Yacoub say it would be an ‘unforgivable folly’ if health chiefs stop congenital heart surgery at Royal Brompton Hospital in London.
Former Speaker of the House of Commons Baroness Boothroyd, a patient of the hospital, has also joined the fight to save the unit.
The Royal Brompton’s congenital cardiac services are threatened under an NHS plan which has its roots in attempts to deal with underperforming units, in the wake of the Bristol Royal Infirmary baby deaths scandal in the 1990s.
The Royal Brompton has among the best survival rates for this type of surgery in the country, and enjoys a global reputation.
But NHS executives are expected to rule on Thursday that congenital heart surgery there should cease. They argue it does not meet a new national standard for paediatric heart surgery – that other children’s services should be ‘co-located’ on the same site. As a specialist heart and lung hospital, this is something the Royal Brompton cannot offer. However, for decades it has worked hand-in-hand with the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, which is less than half a mile away.
In a letter to Ministers, Lord Darzi – an influential Health Minister under Tony Blair – Sir Magdi and Baroness Boothroyd warn: ‘To dismantle the Brompton would be an act of unforgivable folly. We urge you to save the most important heart disease hospital in Britain.’
Baroness Boothroyd, who underwent major heart surgery in 2009, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I have great affection and admiration for the Royal Brompton and I am terribly distressed about what NHS England is going to do to congenital heart surgery.’
She predicted: ‘The bacon slicer will come in and this hospital will be totally ruined.’ All three signatories have received the Order of Merit, Britain’s most exclusive civilian award. Recipients of the Order of Merit are chosen personally by the Queen.
NHS England wants to cut the number of English hospitals performing congenital heart surgery from 13 to ten. Six years ago the Royal Brompton scuppered a previous attempt to rationalise children’s heart surgery centres when
‘The bacon slicer will come in and ruin it’
it won a High Court battle, arguing that the process was flawed.
Undeterred, NHS England announced similar proposals last year. It recommended congenital heart surgery for both children and adults stop at the Royal Brompton, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Glenfield Hospital in Leicester. It set national standards, demanding units have at least three heart surgeons, each carrying out a minimum of 125 operations a year.
The Royal Brompton easily clears that hurdle. But NHS England also said co-located children’s services were a must.
A Royal Brompton spokesman said: ‘We believe we meet every standard set by NHS England, including the provision of co-located multi-specialty care for children.’
NHS England said that its heart surgery standards were guided by organisations which concluded that ‘isolated children’s services are unacceptable’.