THEY thought their job was done. After a long and hard-fought battle, children’s heart surgery in Southampton was saved from the axe – marking a victory for the Daily Echo’s Heart campaign which won support from more than 250,000 people.

There were emotional scenes across the city as parents, patients and doctors at Southampton General Hospital celebrated the news they had all been waiting for.

But the reprieve proved to be short- lived, and now they are back on the battlefield, fighting to ensure the city’s heart surgery unit for children – the second best performing in the country – is once again saved from the chop.

It was February 2011 when the world-class unit was given just a 25 per cent chance of survival as NHS bosses looked to cut down the UK’s 11 units to six or seven in a move to boost standards for the future.

However, campaigners refused to give up, and a 17-week battle culminated in the Daily Echo heading to Downing Street to hand over its 250,000-signature petition in June 2011.

There followed an anxious 12-month wait until they finally got the news they had been praying for as the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) decided that Southampton would become one of the country’s seven specialist surgical centres.

But last year Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt criticised the original consultation for its “flawed analysis” and ordered that a second review should take place.

Health bosses have now launched a new consultation, setting out standards that each unit must meet, such as the requirement to carry out at least 125 operations a year and have at least four surgeons.

In theory the new proposals could see all ten units – including the one at Southampton General Hospital – stay open, but that can only happen if all centres meet the new standards, and that will mean more investment by already cash-strapped hospital trusts.

Hospital chiefs in Southampton have confirmed that they are “absolutely committed to developing and expanding” the unit, which is one of their leading services.

But campaigners also know that, in reality, the closure of some units is inevitable because it is not possible for all surgeons to carry out the required number of operations set out in the standards because there are simply not enough cases to be shared around.

So they were back out in force this week, when NHS England hosted an event to get the views of those in Southampton on what the standards should be and giving them a chance to say why keeping the city’s unit is so vital to saving young lives.

More than 60 people attended the exhibition-style event at Southampton Solent University. One of those was Helen Tucker, from Fareham, whose son’s life was saved by the top team in the city.

Her two-year-old son Benjamin was born with a large hole in the middle of his heart, surrounded by tiny holes, a blockage, a leaky valve and a split between the passages of the heart, and had to have life-saving surgery in April last year.

Surgeons operated successfully on him, but he still needs regular check-ups every six months at the dedicated Ocean Ward.

Helen, 37, is worried about the latest proposals and what they could mean for the thousands of patients the unit treats every year.

She said: “There is nothing that I can fault with the service, it was absolutely outstanding from day one, when Benjamin was diagnosed, to the operation and follow-up care. It was just faultless, and without the care he received Benjamin would not be here today.

“It would be heartbreaking if the ward was to go. I think everybody is worried about this. For us it means we would have to travel further for Benjamin’s review every six months.”

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Jackie Hicks (pictured above), 47, from Bitterne, added: “The unit in Southampton is a home from home, it is like a little family. My son Conrad was treated there and the treatment he has had there is phenomenal.”

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And Gaye Mayger (pictured above), 63, retired from Hythe, said: “The standards are so desperately needed and long overdue, I think that this could save a lot of lives. But I hope it does not mean that Southampton’s unit will be closed, because it is a central hub in the south for heart surgery.”

The 12-week consultation is asking people to share their views on what they think of the new standards set out by the Government.

The consultation document admits that “tough choices” could be made as a result and that not all units would be awarded “contracts” to become a specialist surgical centre.

Once the consultation is over, the standards will be set in stone sometime next year, and then the NHS will award contracts to the “successful providers”.

Michael Wilson, from the NHS England’s new congenital heart review team, said: “Next year, when the standards have been approved we will commission services that meet all those standards, but the onus will be on the centres to demonstrate to us how they meet them. My message to people for whom this service matters is have a look at what we are proposing and let us know what you think if this service matters to you.”

  • To take part in the consultation go to engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/|congenital-heart-disease-standards.