Glenfield Hospital Trust to submit growth plan in bid to secure Children's heart unit future

The hospital trust in charge of Glenfield heart unit, that treats hundreds of children from Lincolnshire every year, has revealed it is submitting a 30 plus page growth plan to NHS England, spelling out how it intends to meet quality targets around surgery.

A 16-week public consultation is currently underway after NHS England revealed plans last summer to stop surgery on children at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.

Under current quality standards the hospital's three surgeons should each be carrying out 125 operations every year (375 in total).

Last year the hospital completed 345 operations. The Trust though says it has growth plans which spell out how it plans to increase that number. It includes encouraging other hospitals to send potential heart surgery patients to them.

It comes as NHS England has revealed that "it's considering the implications the upcoming General Election may have on the ongoing consultation."