This press release has been circulated on behalf of the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) by my friend and colleague, Suleman Nagdi. Leicester Council of Faiths supports this campaign and we'll be issuing our own statment of support in the next week or so.
Muslim group says Hold on to our Hearts
The Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) has joined the campaign to hold on to children's heart services at Glenfield Hospital.
The influential group, which represents just under 200 Muslim organisations, says it strongly supports the campaign to save the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre at Glenfield Hospital which is in real danger of closure.
Spokesman for the FMO Suleman Nagdi MBE DL said: "The fact that such an outstanding and much needed service is in danger of closure is of serious concern. The heart unit has acquired an international reputation for success, being at the forefront of advancements in heart surgery as well as being home to a specialist ECMO unit.
"The closure of this unit will be a devastating development both locally and nationally.
"We are especially concerned at how this potential closure will affect the citizens of what will be the UK’s first ethnic majority city, with over 150,000 Asians, many amongst whom the prevalence of heart disease is particularly high and how plans for the closure have been made without the consultation of bodies representing this ethnic majority such as the FMO."
The East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre, based at Glenfield Hospital, serves a population of more than 5 million across the East Midlands and cares for patients with congenital heart disease from before they are born and into adulthood.
The surgical centre faces an uncertain future as a national review into the care of children with congenital heart conditions aims to close some of the existing centres.
A public consultation into which set of surgical centres should continue to carry out heart surgery is being carried out until Friday 1 July. The centre at Glenfield is included in just one of the four options being put to the public - option A - this means if any of the other three options are chosen the centre at Glenfield would close.
The centre at Glenfield Hospital is part of the highest rated option to provide a safe and sustainable service for the entire country.
"I urge all members of the community to campaign against the closure of the unit by filling in the NHS survey at www.ipsos-mori.com/safeandsustainable and choosing option A, he adds.
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