Father makes plea to keep heart unit open

As a result of the NHS's 'Safe & Sustainable' review of children's heart surgery provision across the UK, the number of heart surgery centres will be cut. The heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) is one of the centres at risk so I went down to the hospital to meet a family that would be affected if the closure was to go ahead and carried out an interview and took photographs to support the piece.

When Aman Adnan was just 12-weeks-old his parents were told he had a heart block and he was sent to LGI to have a pacemaker fitted. If the family, which lives in Dewsbury, had been forced to travel further afield for surgery to Newcastle or Liverpool, his chances of survival could have been reduced. Now three-years old, Aman is recovering in the unit after having surgery to replace a pacemaker.

Aman's father Adnan Tariq said: "If the unit was to close we would have to think about the cost of fuelling our car or going by public transport. The government wants us to go green and not drive as much to reduce emissions but then they are proposing moving the facilities further away."

To read the full story, click here to visit the Asian Express newspaper site and look at pages 10-11.