The Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) was told to suspend its childrens congenital heart surgery department yesterday after an unannounced visit from a very high ranking NHS official and the presentation of some mortality data to the Care Quality Commission - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21972187


This would of course normally be a high profile story in its own right, but for what happened 24 hours earlier... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-21952379 when a Joint Committee of NHS Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) (who last year made the decision to close the LGI congenital heart surgery department in favour of expanding the services in Newcastle) was told by a High Court judge that their decision and process was "unfair and legally flawed".


This in itself was also a high profile story in its own right and it kicked off one hell of a bunfight in the media with the chair of the JCPCT panel Sir Neil McKay coming in for a real old kicking in the local media and from our local Leeds MPs, particularly as the High Court judge found absolutely in the hospitals favour and called McKays hugely expensive review and decision making "ill judged and failed to make all relevant information available to the consultants", in other words she suggested that the evidence had been rigged in favour of a predetermined outcome, local MP Greg Mulholland went further in suggesting that important statistics which supported the LGI unit had been withheld from the review committee.

McKay has given interviews in local media in which he still remains convinced that he is right and points out that the judgement has changed nothing but that they'll have to re-review the whole process again, it seem that he is in no mind to admit that he was wrong and that this time he'll just jump through the hoops and make the same decision again - he's been heavily criticised by local MPs Greg Mulholland, Fabian Hamilton and Stuart Andrew.


Throughout the review and decision making process Stuart Andrew led a cross-party campaign to save the LGI unit and stated today that they asked the question to the review committee several times whether or not the unit was "safe" and that they were told on each occasion that yes it was and there were no concerns over its safety, he has asked for an urgent meeting to discover the source of the data which has led to the sudden closure of the unit and asked why this data was not made available at the initial review or at the High court hearing.

Greg Mulholland on local radio today went further and has called the committee biased and having a lack of objectivity, said that the review committee was scandalous and "should consider its position" and said that the timing of the NHS flying visit by Sir Bruce Keogh (Medical director of the NHS) was cynically made at a time when parliament was closed for Easter and thus preventing MP's from questioning him and his review committee, he pulled no punches in an interview just a few minutes ago and its obvious that all of the local MPs regardless of party are chomping at the bit to have a go at Sire Bruce and Sir Neil


So folks, thats how politics works - if you take a "Sir" to court and gain a judgement to have his very long and very expensive review and closure policy overturned and called illegal, if you embarrass him in the media to the extent where he looks a buffoon, then expect him to call in his mates and produce previously withheld data to justify a closure anyway.

This one will run and run, pull up a chair and fetch the popcorn...

The Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) was told to suspend its childrens congenital heart surgery department yesterday after an unannounced visit from a very high ranking NHS official and the presentation of some mortality data to the Care Quality Commission - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21972187


This would of course normally be a high profile story in its own right, but for what happened 24 hours earlier... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-21952379 when a Joint Committee of NHS Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) (who last year made the decision to close the LGI congenital heart surgery department in favour of expanding the services in Newcastle) was told by a High Court judge that their decision and process was "unfair and legally flawed".


This in itself was also a high profile story in its own right and it kicked off one hell of a bunfight in the media with the chair of the JCPCT panel Sir Neil McKay coming in for a real old kicking in the local media and from our local Leeds MPs, particularly as the High Court judge found absolutely in the hospitals favour and called McKays hugely expensive review and decision making "ill judged and failed to make all relevant information available to the consultants", in other words she suggested that the evidence had been rigged in favour of a predetermined outcome, local MP Greg Mulholland went further in suggesting that important statistics which supported the LGI unit had been withheld from the review committee.

McKay has given interviews in local media in which he still remains convinced that he is right and points out that the judgement has changed nothing but that they'll have to re-review the whole process again, it seem that he is in no mind to admit that he was wrong and that this time he'll just jump through the hoops and make the same decision again - he's been heavily criticised by local MPs Greg Mulholland, Fabian Hamilton and Stuart Andrew.


Throughout the review and decision making process Stuart Andrew led a cross-party campaign to save the LGI unit and stated today that they asked the question to the review committee several times whether or not the unit was "safe" and that they were told on each occasion that yes it was and there were no concerns over its safety, he has asked for an urgent meeting to discover the source of the data which has led to the sudden closure of the unit and asked why this data was not made available at the initial review or at the High court hearing.

Greg Mulholland on local radio today went further and has called the committee biased and having a lack of objectivity, said that the review committee was scandalous and "should consider its position" and said that the timing of the NHS flying visit by Sir Bruce Keogh (Medical director of the NHS) was cynically made at a time when parliament was closed for Easter and thus preventing MP's from questioning him and his review committee, he pulled no punches in an interview just a few minutes ago and its obvious that all of the local MPs regardless of party are chomping at the bit to have a go at Sire Bruce and Sir Neil


So folks, thats how politics works - if you take a "Sir" to court and gain a judgement to have his very long and very expensive review and closure policy overturned and called illegal, if you embarrass him in the media to the extent where he looks a buffoon, then expect him to call in his mates and produce previously withheld data to justify a closure anyway.

This one will run and run, pull up a chair and fetch the popcorn...

And now it appears that the data on which Keogh's original decision was made is "fundamentally flawed" and is missing "hundreds of cases" according to the LGI's own data on death rates. With these cases included, the LGI compares favourably to other units in the country and is by no stretch of the imagination "unsafe".

The JCPCT has made its decision, and has made a complete hash of trying to fudge together some data to support it. In the process, Keogh has smeared the efficiency and technical competence of a unit full of hard working, dedicated medical and administrative staff by attempting to paint it as another Mid-Staffs in waiting.

And yet, after his SAS-style knifing in the back of the Leeds unit and its staff, he had the bare faced cheek to give an interview to the Guardian about how he's sick of people having a pop at the NHS ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/ ... pen-season ).

He's either incredibly poorly advised, or an idiot.

And now it appears that the data on which Keogh's original decision was made is "fundamentally flawed" and is missing "hundreds of cases" according to the LGI's own data on death rates. With these cases included, the LGI compares favourably to other units in the country and is by no stretch of the imagination "unsafe".

The JCPCT has made its decision, and has made a complete hash of trying to fudge together some data to support it. In the process, Keogh has smeared the efficiency and technical competence of a unit full of hard working, dedicated medical and administrative staff by attempting to paint it as another Mid-Staffs in waiting.

And yet, after his SAS-style knifing in the back of the Leeds unit and its staff, he had the bare faced cheek to give an interview to the Guardian about how he's sick of people having a pop at the NHS ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/ ... pen-season ).

He's either incredibly poorly advised, or an idiot.

As you'd expect, Greg Mulholland MP has an opinion

As you'd expect, Greg Mulholland MP has an opinion

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21981778
As suspected the data given as evidence was incomplete, ignored lots of relevant data which didn't suit the agenda and was never intended for publication anyway, it being an experimental methodology that was neither approved nor regarded as anywhere near ready for public consumption - it was leaked by an anonymous "concerned" surgeon.

BBC Leeds now reporting that surgery at Leeds is to resume "with immediate effect" after a tremendous effort from the cross party committee of Leeds MPs of Stuart Andrew, Greg Mulholland and Fabian Hamilton each of whom were not best pleased to have been ignored by head of the NHS Bruce Keogh when he made his flying visit last Thursday to close the unit - his comments are awaited with anticipation.

Meanwhile its another victory for the internet and particularly Twitter which our MPs have been using to great effect all weekend drumming up public opinion,arranging petitions and digging for the evidence, one day all public figures will come to understand that you USED to be able to bluff and bluster your way through high office confident in the knowledge that you'd buried the evidence and no-one would dare to challenge you anyway, but these days the public always seem to be several steps ahead of you, and far better informed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21981778
As suspected the data given as evidence was incomplete, ignored lots of relevant data which didn't suit the agenda and was never intended for publication anyway, it being an experimental methodology that was neither approved nor regarded as anywhere near ready for public consumption - it was leaked by an anonymous "concerned" surgeon.

BBC Leeds now reporting that surgery at Leeds is to resume "with immediate effect" after a tremendous effort from the cross party committee of Leeds MPs of Stuart Andrew, Greg Mulholland and Fabian Hamilton each of whom were not best pleased to have been ignored by head of the NHS Bruce Keogh when he made his flying visit last Thursday to close the unit - his comments are awaited with anticipation.

Meanwhile its another victory for the internet and particularly Twitter which our MPs have been using to great effect all weekend drumming up public opinion,arranging petitions and digging for the evidence, one day all public figures will come to understand that you USED to be able to bluff and bluster your way through high office confident in the knowledge that you'd buried the evidence and no-one would dare to challenge you anyway, but these days the public always seem to be several steps ahead of you, and far better informed.

Would this be the same "concerned" surgeon from Newcastle Freeman who sat on the original JCPCT decision, despite the massive conflict of interest?

Would this be the same "concerned" surgeon from Newcastle Freeman who sat on the original JCPCT decision, despite the massive conflict of interest?