medusa Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Stickies in the main forum are reserved for things like deaths of forum users and missing children so no, I'm afraid we won't be stickying this. I understand the reasoning for why children's cardiac surgery is being reviewed in this way and this prompts a question for anybody who has a sick little one: Would you rather be closer to home but with a significantly higher risk of things going wrong and your little one not coming home with you, or further away and have safer surgery with more chance of a decent outcome and no problems? I understand that there are reasons to want one of these hospitals close to home, but if they don't operate often enough to be good at each of the operations then personally I'd move heaven and earth to get my family member to a surgeon who is experienced and practised enough to have a good outcome. I'm in the position of having to live with a disability brought about entirely because a non-specialist team did an operation which should have been done by a specialist, and I also know that if that area ever needs surgery again then it will be done by a specialist surgeon in London, rather than close to home. I accept that it is preferable to have a good outcome but be inconvenienced by distance to have the surgery with a better chance of a good outcome, and I'd want the same good chances for anybody I love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellem Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 I am sorry that your operation did not go well and you require further treatment. This is not an argument about convenience for anyone but about critically ill babies and children having to be transferred between units for surgery, post op care etc. My son was treated at LGI and survived because they were able to treat him quickly when he arrived. He would not have made it to Newcastle. These proposals do not favour patients, but doctors. If i could see that lives would be saved I would wholeheartedly back these proposals but I cant see that it can. LGI can offer a full package of care and if this campaign is successful, all surgeons would be based there instead of Newcastle. So there would be sufficient procedures at that centre. Recommendations are based on incorrect observations. I would take my son to the end of the earth to get the best care. But LGI is able to offer the best care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mh01 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I am sorry that your operation did not go well and you require further treatment. This is not an argument about convenience for anyone but about critically ill babies and children having to be transferred between units for surgery, post op care etc. My son was treated at LGI and survived because they were able to treat him quickly when he arrived. He would not have made it to Newcastle. These proposals do not favour patients, but doctors. If i could see that lives would be saved I would wholeheartedly back these proposals but I cant see that it can. LGI can offer a full package of care and if this campaign is successful, all surgeons would be based there instead of Newcastle. So there would be sufficient procedures at that centre. Recommendations are based on incorrect observations. I would take my son to the end of the earth to get the best care. But LGI is able to offer the best care.i totally agree with you, leeds covers patients from the whole of yorkshire,humberside,north notts,north derbys etc & also recieves emergencies from cumbria,lancs & northumberland at busy times. surely it would be more sensible to keep lgi as the central hospital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 My son was treated at LGI and survived because they were able to treat him quickly when he arrived. He would not have made it to Newcastle. Presumably, then, a person in Newcastle with the same condition wouldn't make it to Leeds - yet you are happy to see Newcastle shut down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mh01 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Presumably, then, a person in Newcastle with the same condition wouldn't make it to Leeds - yet you are happy to see Newcastle shut down?from what theyre saying i dont think newcastle would shut down either way, as 1 reporter put it "leeds would shut down as a costcutting exercise with newcastle & liverpool being the central hospitals for the north of england which is of more benefit to surgeons than patients" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowersfade Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 If this hospital is lost it will be a great loss to all of Yorkshire and beyond please do sign the petition and make your voice heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellem Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 It is likely that an ill baby or child could travel from anywhere in the region to Leeds. I am not talking about a child travelling between Newcastle and Leeds, but from all the areas further afield within the region. Leeds also has a helipad, which Newcastle doesnt. This is not about wanting anyone to be worse off than anyone else, but being able to provide the best standard of care for babies and children in the region. Including Newcastle. If LGI closes, the region loses 75% of its general paediatric intensive care beds. So potentially it affects children other than cardiac babies. And there is a knock on effect for adult and young adults. Leeds is accessible across the region within 2 hours. Newcastle is 3.5 hours from Sheffield and further for areas on the boundaries of the region. Its just about providing the best care for as many within the region as possible. And it seems that LGI can do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I am not talking about a child travelling between Newcastle and Leeds But you were talking about a child travelling from Leeds to Newcastle. It's the same distance in both directions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniellem Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 But you were talking about a child travelling from Leeds to Newcastle. It's the same distance in both directions! I was talking about my child going from Sheffield to Leeds and not making it to Newcastle if he's had to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Stickies in the main forum are reserved for things like deaths of forum users and missing children so no, I'm afraid we won't be stickying this. I understand the reasoning for why children's cardiac surgery is being reviewed in this way and this prompts a question for anybody who has a sick little one: Would you rather be closer to home but with a significantly higher risk of things going wrong and your little one not coming home with you, or further away and have safer surgery with more chance of a decent outcome and no problems? I understand that there are reasons to want one of these hospitals close to home, but if they don't operate often enough to be good at each of the operations then personally I'd move heaven and earth to get my family member to a surgeon who is experienced and practised enough to have a good outcome. I'm in the position of having to live with a disability brought about entirely because a non-specialist team did an operation which should have been done by a specialist, and I also know that if that area ever needs surgery again then it will be done by a specialist surgeon in London, rather than close to home. I accept that it is preferable to have a good outcome but be inconvenienced by distance to have the surgery with a better chance of a good outcome, and I'd want the same good chances for anybody I love. That's one hell of a post, based on a presumption. Leeds does far more of childrens heart operations than Newcastle does each year. They are far more experienced. The surgeons themselves believe it is ludicrous to consider moving these cases to Newcastle and have been on television saying so. I am very grateful to the OP for raising this. I have friends who have needed this facility for their children several times, and they have been through hell. They have had to put things in a bag with a couple of hours notice, as a slot has become available within a couple of hours at Leeds - they would have had no chance, getting everything together and up to Newcastle in this time window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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