Cardiac Campaign: Don't Stitch Us Up!
23rd June 2011
Speaking in a debate on the floor of the House of Commons today Labour MP Dr Alan Whitehead staunchly defended Southampton General hospital’s children’s cardiac unit, which is threatened with closure.
The motion today called on the Joint Committee conducting the review to consider further options before making its final recommendations on the future of Southampton’s children’s cardiac unit
During the debate on the review of congenital cardiac services for children, Alan praised the commitment of the petitioners who have been fighting to keep the unit open. He said:
“The hard work undertaken by the large numbers of people who organised the petition presented at No. 10 yesterday showed not partisan fighting on behalf of a particular unit, regardless of its quality or the service that it represents, but genuine mystification that the process appears to have dealt so peripherally with Southampton’s role in the national roll-out of services. In 2010, Sir Ian Kennedy rated Southampton as provider of the highest quality service outside London, rating it particularly highly on paediatric intensive care and support for parents, and highly on training and innovation.”
Alan also slammed the inaccuracy of the information about Southampton General’s unit which was included in the review and called for a rethink:
“If clinicians depend on the material in a review setting out the factors that will be taken into account in their final decision, much of their power in making that decision could be overthrown by what goes into that review in the first place. It is not a clinical decision for the review to state that Southampton has two surgeons and undertakes 231 procedures, when in fact it will have four surgeons by this summer and undertakes almost 400 procedures which the review appears to neglect.”
The Labour MP concluded by saying:
“If such a decision is made by the review, which appears to have got so many things wrong about the background to Southampton’s excellent services, the 250,000 petitioners who signed the petition that went to No. 10 yesterday will justifiably feel let down by the process, whoever conducts it. The national health service has a long and honourable record of stitching people up for the right reasons. If as a result of the review those 250,000 people end up feeling stitched up for the wrong reasons, they will have every right to feel very aggrieved indeed."
Speaking after the debate Dr Whitehead commented:
“I am extremely pleased that the motion was passed unanimously today and I hope that the Joint Committee will take note of that and reassess the options. There is no excuse for Southampton General to be excluded from the majority of the committee’s recommendations, especially on the basis of such shaky and inaccurate data.”
You can read Alan's full speech on the Cardiac Campaign here.
Cardiac Visit
This Friday both Alan Whitehead and John Denham will be visiting Southampton’s children’s cardiac unit in support of the Save Our Heart Unit campaign.
The consultation is due to close on 1st July, so time is running out for us to have our say in retaining the Southampton’s paediatric cardiac unit –which is rated the second best in the country. Yesterday politicians joined campaigners in handing over a petition of 232,733 signatures to 10 Downing Street.
On Friday Southampton's Labour MPs will be meeting Nicola Viola (consultant cardiac surgeon), Dr Michael Marsh (medical director) and Colette Cochran (cardiac clinical nurse specialist), together with patients in discussing the importance that this heart unit is retained.
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