A Spalding couple are joining the fight over a decision to end congenital heart disease surgery for children at our region’s specialist centre.
Six-year-old Sofia Larsson owes her life to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester after a series of operations to correct heart defects.
However, Glenfield is one of three units which NHS England has told to stop surgery for patients born with heart problems by April 2017.
The news came as a shock to Sofia’s parents, Christer and Francesca Larsson, who hoped the unit’s future was safe in 2013 when health secretary Jeremy Hunt halted a review into providing care at fewer, bigger centres.
All centres for congenital heart disease (CHD) then worked towards achieving an agreed new set of standards.
Francesca (35) said: “We are in shock about the announcement which has come completely out of the blue. Units were supposed to have until 2018 to meet the new standards required by NHS England, and Glenfield have been making great progress towards these.”
NHS England plans to transfer CHD surgical and interventional cardiology services to other hospitals.
It said: “Neither University Hospitals Leicester or the Royal Brompton Trusts meet the standards and are extremely unlikely to be able to do so.”
Patients, it said, will benefit from “action to ensure core standards of quality and sustainability”.
Sofia, who goes to Spalding Parish Church Day School, still has some narrowing in two of her pulmonary veins, which will need to be monitored for the rest of her life. There is a possibility of further surgery in the future.
“If we were facing surgery with Sofia now, we would be very concerned about NHS England’s decision,” said Francesca. “Hearing that the surgical centre where your child is due to have surgery is due to close in less than a year increases the worry and uncertainty already felt by parents at an already stressful time.
“Words can’t express our feelings about Glenfield and what they have done both for Sofia and us as a family. Without them we wouldn’t have our beautiful daughter and we will forever be in their debt. But it is other children and their families in this area we are fighting for now, those who haven’t even been born yet who might need Glenfield’s services in the future.”
The NHS Trust covering Glenfield says it will fight the decision, and a separate petition has more than 14,000 signatures (visit www.change.org and search East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre).
