§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will now respond substantively to recommendations 192 to 197 of the Report of the Public Inquiry into Children's Heart Surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. [149268]
§ Dr. LadymanThese recommendations were considered by the paediatric and congenital cardiac services review group which was established in March 2001. The report of the review group, which was published on 18 December 2003, offered advice on ways to ensure that standards are maintained and improved, based on the recommendations from this Inquiry. The report has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department of Health's website at www.doh.gsi.gov.uk/childcardiac
The review group did not support recommendation 197 that surgical services for children with very rare congenital heart conditions, or involving procedures undertaken very rarely, should only be performed in a maximum of two units and instead made their own recommendations for introducing new procedures.
With one exception, a recommendation to only keep centres carrying out at least 300 operations per year, the Government accepted all the review group's recommendations.