Proposals to end heart surgery for children at the Royal Brompton Hospital are expected to be challenged by a London NHS trust. According to Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust Foundation, the cancellation of this would result in the loss of other types of services, which would in turn call the viability of the hospital into question.

An NHS review launched after public questioning regarding botched operations in the 1990s at Bristol Royal Infirmary led to the suggestion that such operations should be stopped at four or five different hospitals, including Royal Brompton.

A final decision won’t be reached until the fall, and the decision would come into effect in 2013. According to a spokeswoman for the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, if the decision to end child heart surgery went through, then anesthetic services for children would be impossible, it would hinder adult heart surgery, and it would make the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) and respiratory service unsustainable.

“There is an obvious rationale behind the proposal for two London centers and we stand ready to defend the robust way in which the recommendations for public consultation have been reached”, said the spokeswoman. She went on to say that it was “extremely disappointing that we find ourselves having to defend the integrity of senior NHS clinicians on the Steering Group”.