7:56am Saturday 6th April 2013
Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said more could have been done to check the statistics before surgeries were cancelled.
Mr Jones said: “The uncertainty of the past week has been damaging for the Children’s Heart Unit and the teams who work there, but most importantly really worrying for the parents and families of the children needing surgery and care.
“It is clearly right in the light of the Mid Staffs scandal to take seriously concerns about safety within our NHS, but actions must be taken on accurate information.
"Senior NHS managers used data to justify the suspension of surgery which was immediately challenged by the doctors responsible for that data as not being fit for purpose and, it became clear later, was incomplete. This begs the question why immediate verification checks were not carried out before the NHS acted to suspend surgery at the unit.”
Mr Jones also criticised the timing of the suspension, which came within 24 hours of the High Court ruling that the NHS decision to close the unit.
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