The NHS Safe and Sustainable review team has recommended that options for reconfiguring children's heart surgery services do not include Oxford as a possible centre.
This is very disappointing news for Oxford. The John Radcliffe Hospital is one of the smallest centres in the country, but we had hoped that the Safe and Sustainable team would recognise the potential that Oxford has in terms of geographical location and the presence of other connected clinical services on site.
The ORH Board will now wish to consider the implications of this recommendation and will want to continue discussions with the Safe and Sustainable team about the future of specialist children's heart services.
We know our patients, their families and our staff will be very disappointed at this news and hope they will continue to participate in shaping the future of children's cardiac services when the formal consultation begins in the New Year.
Following a steering group meeting yesterday (14 October 2010), the Safe and Sustainable team said Oxford was considered to be the centre least likely to meet all of the new quality standards for children's heart surgery.
Andrew Stevens, Director of Planning and Information at the ORH said: "Oxford is one of the smallest centres and the main thrust of the Safe and Sustainable review is that there should be fewer, larger paediatric cardiac surgery centres in the future. It is perhaps therefore not surprising that Oxford was felt to have the highest mountain to climb."
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