By Olivia Mumby
Shadow Health Secretary and Leicester South Labour MP, Jon Ashworth, has called for more places to be available to the public at an upcoming meeting to discuss the future of the Glenfield Hospital Children’s Heart Unit.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 9, at the Leicester Tigers stadium in Welford Road in the city.
There are currently only about 120 places available for the public to attend.
For such an important meeting, the gathering should be held in a bigger venue, according to Mr Ashworth.
“I am extremely concerned at the low number of places available for the public to attend this event,” he said.
“Given that the purpose of the event is to provide people with the opportunity to hear more about the proposals, and to ask questions about the proposed plans, it is extremely unsatisfactory that only 96 seats are allocated to the public.”
NHS England bosses have responded, saying they had worked with the venue to increase the capacity of the room to allow more people to attend. Originally, the room was going to hold 96 people. Now there is space for 120.
It’s still not enough, said Mr Ashworth.
“An increase from 96 to 120 is simply not good enough,” he said.
Last month, about 2,000 people marched from Victoria Park into Leicester city centre to demonstrate their support for the centre and to protest about its proposed closure.
Public feeling about the proposed closure is strong, said Mr Ashworth.
“I would encourage anyone who would like to attend the event to register with NHS England as they will consider another event in Leicester if there is the demand for one.”
Speaking via Facebook, the Save Glenfield Heart Unit group said: “NHS England are clearly trying to limit the amount of opposition they will face at the meeting. But we will not be deterred!”
For those unable to attend the meeting, there are plans for supporters to meet outside the venue to show their support for the unit.
People will be gathering from 4.30pm onwards and anyone is welcome to join in.
To register an interest in attending an event, visit: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/
If you would like to submit a question for the event, please send them in advance to: england.congenitalheart@nhs.net.
The event will also be available via web-link, the details of which are available on the NHS England website.
