THE signatures have been rolling in as the Daily Echo’s Have a Heart campaign hit the streets of Southampton this weekend.

At the front of the queue, eager to put pen to paper, was paediatric cardiologist Dr James Gnanapragasam and his team at the children’s heart surgery unit at Southampton General Hospital.

They have been left feeling “disappointed” and “angry” that the future of their top-performing unit has been put under threat by health chiefs and thanked the Daily Echo for launching the campaign to save it from the axe.

Despite being ranked the second best in the country, the unit at Southampton General Hospital is under threat as health chiefs look to cut the UK’s 11 centres down to six or seven.

Southampton was featured in just one of four options which will be put out for a four-month public consultation starting on February 28, before the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts makes their final decision by the end of the year.

If Southampton closed, it would mean families would be forced to get life-saving treatment in London or Bristol, at units which experts say fell below the “exemplary” standards that the city boasts.

Dr James Gnanapragasam, paediatric cardiologist, said: “Everyone feels disappointed although I think cheated perhaps is a better way of expressing it.

“We were one of just two centres which scored more than 500 during the independent assessment of the unit by the experts so it is hard to believe we only feature in one of the four options.

“We believe we are in the best option but we need to work together and make sure that this unit is not lost.

“It has only been a few days but already the support we have been getting from families and the public has been fantastic.

“I want to urge as many people as possible to get behind the Daily Echo Have a Heart campaign and help save the future of our cardiac unit.”

Patients, families, politicians and medical experts have all joined our campaign to send a resounding message health bosses not to close the Southampton unit.

Have your children been treated at the paediatric cardiac unit in Southampton? Tell us your story by ringing Melanie Adams on 023 8061 4271 or emailing melanie.adams@dailyecho.co.uk