Legal bid to stop heart unit closure (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Legal bid to stop heart unit closure
8:00am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News
A decision to change the provision of children’s heart surgery across England, including proposals to close the heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary, has come under fresh legal challenge.
A High Court judge is being asked to rule that the consultation process which led to the changes was "procedurally flawed".
Campaign group Save Our Surgery (SOS), which represents a large number of residents in the Leeds area, says an unfair consultation process left consultees “shooting in the dark” and should be rerun.
The legal challenge, which was continuing in court today, stems from a decision last July by the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) that paediatric cardiac surgery should be concentrated at fewer, larger sites to improve standards across the country. JCPCT lawyers say the consultation process was fair and all relevant considerations were properly taken into account.
