The formal response to the consultation from the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust can be found here|.
In the last year, Southampton and Oxford have been developing the South of England Congenital Heart Network - a joint collaboration, led by the surgical centre in Southampton with the full support of both hospitals.
It has the benefit of including one of the country's leading centres for children's heart surgery and an outstanding children's cardiology centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Both of these centres have the expertise and facilities to provide a wide range of care and treatment for patients with congenital heart problems, including their other complex needs, from birth through to adulthood.
The South of England Congenital Heart Network is the first demonstration anywhere in the country in which two leading teaching hospitals are working together to merge their tertiary congenital heart units in the context of the Safe and Sustainable principles.
Creating a network of this kind sounds very easy on paper but it is challenging to achieve in practice. It depends on strong collaborative rather than competitive relationships, based on mutual respect and trust and a genuine desire to provide the best possible care for patients and families. It also requires the confidence and trust of patients and the support of the district general hospitals that are the referral centres.
You can read the response from Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust here|.
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