Campaigners fighting to save the children’s heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary have called on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to start an investigation into the suspension of surgery at the hospital, describing the decision as “NHS politics at its worst”.
Some operations will restart today after they were halted following the intervention of Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England.
The decision to suspend surgery after concerns were raised over death rate data caused controversy, especially as it came a day after a group campaigning to save the unit won an important victory in the High Court.
That group – Save Our Surgery (SOS) – called on Mr Hunt to launch an investigation, saying it feared it was “no coincidence” Sir Bruce’s intervention came just after the judge’s ruling.
Campaigner Sharon Cheng said: “This exercise has been NHS politics at its worst.”
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