PARENTS have been left wondering when their children will get life-changing treatment after surgery stopped at a heart unit.
Congenital heart surgery at the unit at Leeds General Infirmary ceased last week after a visit by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The unit, which is the subject of a major High Court battle to save it from the threat of closure, treats patients across the region, including in East Yorkshire.
West Hull mum Mel Richardson, 34, says her daughter Ellie, seven, was due an open-heart operation in a few weeks.
She said: "We have no idea what is going on and whether it will go ahead or where.
"Families are supposed to come to the forefront of NHS care but the people who closed it didn't set up a helpline to advise us what to do.
"Lives are going to be destroyed by this."
Hundreds of families have been campaigning to keep the surgery open after NHS bosses held a consultation and selected it as one of the units that should close.
On Wednesday, campaigners celebrated a win after a High Court judge ordered the NHS chiefs to think again over the plans to close it.
Parents believe this latest news could not have come at a worst time.
Mel said: "I used to think the decision to close the unit was never biased but the timing of all this makes me think it is.
"Our campaign was never about one unit being better than the other, it was about keeping them all open and working together.
"But, more and more, I am convinced the decision is biased."
Mel's daughter Ellie has a number of complicated heart conditions including a double outlet right ventricle and transposition of the greater arteries.
She has also suffered a stroke and has already had four major surgeries at Leeds, with her next one due in the next few weeks.
Mel said: "I have enough on my plate to deal with without the added stress of this.
"The things I am hearing from other parents, who haven't been told anything either, is diabolical.
"I honestly don't get how this can happen."
It is believed the unit closed on Thursday, shortly after a visit by the CQC – the body which inspects hospitals and ensures they are maintaining standards.
It is understood the CQC was concerned about death rate figures relating to the children's heart surgery ward.
However, a spokesman from the commission said he could not comment on either an inspection or data.
He said: "Following our discussions with the NHS Commissioning Board and Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust, we support the trust's decision to carry out a review of their children's heart surgery unit and to put existing activity on hold pending the outcome of this review.
"We are in close contact with the trust to ensure effective arrangements are in place to protect the safety and welfare of patients during the period of the review, and will continue to monitor the situation extremely closely."
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