A Bradford grandmother who was among 400 people to attend two public consultation sessions to discuss the future of children’s heart services has spoken of her frustration at the outcome.

The events in Leeds were organised by Safe And Sustainable – the NHS consultation into the future of children’s congenital heart services in England.

The national review is recommending closure of four or five of the units which perform cardiac operations on children.

Four options have been put forward for public consultation, but the unit at Leeds General Infirmary, which treats youngsters from across Yorkshire – including Irene Pickles’ ten-year-old grandson Harrison Dunne, of Low Moor – only features in one of the options.

Mrs Pickles, 71, of Cottingley, attended the event with Harrison’s mum Jan, and said some parents were in tears as they left and she believed a decision had already been made to shut the Leeds unit.

“It was very frustrating really as all they wanted to talk about was Newcastle,” she said. “There were an awful lot of questions we did not get answers to and they did not want to know our side at all."

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund has mounted a Save Our Surgery campaign and supporters lobbied outside the meetings. If the Leeds unit closes, patients in Bradford face having to travel to Liverpool or Newcastle for surgery.

Professor Roger Boyle CBE, National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke, acknowledged the support for the unit in Leeds and said he was grateful to those who took the time to make their views known.

However he said: “There has been a wealth of clinical evidence for many years that children’s heart surgery services should be concentrated in fewer centres. It is in children’s best interests to have surgeons and their teams working together in larger centres to deliver world-class care”.

People are encouraged to fill out a response form at ipsos-mori.com/ safeandsustainable or submit a response to the freepost address on the website at specialisedservices.nhs.uk/ safeandsustainable .

The public consultation runs until July 1. A final decision is expected later this year.

To sign a petition against the closure of the Leeds unit, visit chsf.co.uk.

  • Read the full story in Thursday's T&A