NHS England will today (13 March 2014) publish a report into the children’s heart services provided at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Leeds review investigated issues raised about the safety and quality of care at the trust. A significant amount of work has been undertaken to establish an accurate picture of the services provided, including an externally-led mortality case review and a family experience review.

The mortality review concludes that on current evidence, services at Leeds are safe and running well. However, the family experience review, which is based upon the stories of 16 families who volunteered to give their accounts, highlights issues with care and compassion within the trust.

Mike Bewick, NHS England Deputy Medical Director, said: “We are confident from the findings of The Mortality Review that clinical outcomes at the Trust are in line with other, similar heart surgery units in England.

“But this alone is not good enough – one family who feels let down by the NHS is one family too many as these harrowing stories demonstrate.

“There is significant learning that will be taken forward and NHS England would like to thank all of the families who have shown considerable courage in sharing their difficult stories. Such experiences cannot be defended and NHS England will be working with the trust and partner organisations to see that necessary changes are made.”

“Work is also underway to explore the governance of referrals and how the trust works together with other hospitals in the best interests of patients, the findings of this review will be published in due course.

“We welcome  the publication of findings to date, which reaffirms our commitment to safety, listening to families’ experiences, acting decisively when necessary and openly sharing information to promote safe care for everyone,” said Mike.

As the first single national commissioner of specialised services, NHS England is committed to securing the best possible outcomes for all patients regardless of where they are treated. Equally important is ensuring that patients and families feel the care they have received has been delivered with true compassion and kindness.”

Find out more and read the report here.

For media enquiries to NHS England: nhsengland.media@nhs.net or 07768 901293.