Heart Diseases: Children

Department of Health written question – answered at on 19 January 2017.

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Photo of Tania Mathias Tania Mathias Conservative, Twickenham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the evidence indicating the clinical benefits of the co-location of children's services with children congenital heart disease services that supported its inclusion in the final standards for congenital heart disease contained in the New Congenital Heart Disease Review: Final Report.

Photo of Philip Dunne Philip Dunne The Minister of State, Department of Health

The new congenital heart disease (CHD) standards were approved by the NHS England Board in July 2015. The paper which NHS England’s CHD review team submitted to the Board at that time set out that:

“We found no published evidence on the effects of proximity of other services so the proposed standards are based on expert opinion. Our clinical advisers strongly advocated co-location with other paediatric services, though they recognised that not everyone agrees. They considered that while responsiveness was one important factor, it was not the only thing that mattered. Delivering these services effectively requires the input of the wider paediatric multidisciplinary team, and the interaction between these teams on a daily basis, when co-located, is considered to be of significant benefit to patients.”

The full paper can be found on NHS England’s website at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Item-4-CHD-Report.pdf

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