04.07.12
No more delay
It’s hard not to have mixed feelings when seeing the efforts put into keep local children’s heart surgery units open by parents and local campaigners.
Some unthinking criticism of such campaigns suggest the people involved don’t understand the issues and just want their local unit kept open for ease of access and even local pride – but from Southampton to Newcastle, the fact is that those involved have a good grasp on the issues involved and can make clinically plausible cases for keeping their centres open.
Almost all of the campaigners accept the over-riding need for fewer more specialised units: they are not ignorant as to the consequences of allowing another Bristolor Oxford.
Those scandals showed, if anything, why we can’t always just leave it up to the experts and professionals to make all the decisions, and why democratisation and transparency is so important. At least this incredibly long process, and the controversy around the Royal Brompton court rulings, has given the public plenty of chance to understand the issues, and no-one can deny them the right to make their views known about their local heart unit, where many have experienced fantastic quality care that is a credit to the NHS.
But the sooner this long-needed reconfiguration happens, the safer children’s heart surgery will be.
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