THE Archbishop of York has questioned the decision to suspend children's heart surgery at a Leeds hospital - and spoken of his fears over the impact it will have on young patients and their families.

Dr John Sentamu, who has supported the campaign against the child heart surgery unit at Leeds General Infirmary - which treats children from York and North Yorkshire - closing in an NHS review, visited the hospital on Saturday in "a pilgrimage of prayer and trust".

The Northern Echo: Sentamu.jpg

Surgery was halted on Friday amid concerns over death rates which health chiefs said were higher than expected.

However, a senior doctor claimed the data on mortality rates was "incomplete" and did not include all operations. NHS managers have said other factors also played a part in the suspension.

The Archbishop called on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to "expedite" his own review into the unit, ordered after opposition to plans to stop surgery in Leeds and concentrate services at fewer centres, including Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, saying: "This will allow figures [about mortality rates] which have already been criticised to be scrutinised, and somebody should look at this very quickly.

"I don't think what has happened is sinister, but it is very worrying and I would be heartbroken if what I first saw when I visited the unit two months ago was not being provided. I saw nothing but clinical excellence then and I saw nothing different today.

"What has surprised me is that this data is being disputed and has not yet been properly analysed. Should it not have been analysed before being made public?

"There is absolute commitment by the entire medical team at the hospital to do their best for families, but there is anxiety, concern, worry. For three years, they have been beleaguered by the Sword of Damocles hanging over them, fearing the unit will be closed."