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Leeds General Infirmary children's heart surgery to resume Leeds General Infirmary children's heart surgery to resume
(35 minutes later)
Children's heart surgery is set to resume at Leeds General Infirmary within days, a week after concerns were raised about death rates at the unit. Children's heart surgery is set to restart at Leeds General Infirmary, a week after it was claimed data showed higher-than-usual death rates there.
Operations are due to begin early next week after a meeting between NHS bosses and other partners on Thursday night. Operations are due to resume early next week after a meeting between NHS bosses and other partners on Thursday night.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said work would be done to give "sufficient assurance" the unit is safe to reopen.Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said work would be done to give "sufficient assurance" the unit is safe to reopen.
Data suggested death rates were double that of other centres, but the figures' accuracy has been questioned. Data suggested death rates were double that of other centres, but the accuracy of the figures has been questioned.
Doctors and other medical experts said the information had been unverified and was not fit to base a decision to close the unit on.Doctors and other medical experts said the information had been unverified and was not fit to base a decision to close the unit on.
Maggie Boyle, chief executive of the trust, said: "I am extremely confident that this service is safe and effective and should recommence at the earliest opportunity. I want partner organisations to be as confident in the service as I am."Maggie Boyle, chief executive of the trust, said: "I am extremely confident that this service is safe and effective and should recommence at the earliest opportunity. I want partner organisations to be as confident in the service as I am."
'Fantastic care' 'Losing faith'
Parents had criticised the timing of the suspension of surgery at the unit, which came 24 hours after a High Court judge ruled that a decision-making process to close it as part of an England-wide reorganisation of services was "legally flawed".Parents had criticised the timing of the suspension of surgery at the unit, which came 24 hours after a High Court judge ruled that a decision-making process to close it as part of an England-wide reorganisation of services was "legally flawed".
Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England, said the figures were among a "constellation of reasons" the decision was made. Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England, said the figures were among a "constellation of reasons" the decision was made.
Jon Arnold, whose daughter Zoe underwent life-saving heart surgery at the unit in 2007 when she was three weeks old, said the news surgery is to resume was a relief. Stuart Andrew, the Conservative MP for Pudsey, called for "some really serious investigating" into the decision to suspend surgery.
"There's been massive support from the parents and families for the unit, and this decision confirms what we thought about the quality of care all along," he said. Mr Andrew claimed that a review of the mortality figures showed that "Leeds is within the average and is a safe unit to use".
"My daughter had fantastic care at the unit. He said that the recent events raised questions about the NHS decision to close the Leeds unit for good and concentrate children's heart surgery in fewer centres.
"It was difficult to understand as a parent how they could have shut the ward so swiftly on the basis of unverified data. "We are losing faith in that review process," said Mr Andrew.
"It left parents feeling very confused about what to believe and what was best for their child." "Some of these people are the same people on that decision-making body."
Lois Brown, whose five-year-old daughter had life-saving heart treatment at the hospital, described the decision to restart surgery as "fantastic".
Ms Brown has been involved in the campaign and court action to save the unit from closure.
She said she wanted answers as to why the unit was shut.
"I'm really relieved that children are going to get surgery at Leeds again," she said.
"For the past week and a bit we have been putting children's lives at risk for no reason, apparently."