Glenfield Hospital is facing a major fight to retain its place as a centre for children's heart surgery after the outcome of an NHS review was revealed yesterday.
The hospital featured in only one of four options put forward for the future shape of children's heart surgery in England and Wales.
The options involve reducing the current 11 centres by either four or five in order to focus the service in fewer places. This would increase the caseload at each and give surgeons a wider range of experience.
The NHS believes this will produce the best service possible.
Glenfield Hospital features in the review body's Option A proposals, alongside six other centres.
However, in all the other three options, Glenfield would be closed as a centre for children's heart surgery, although it would keep outpatient services for children who have undergone heart surgery.
Children born with heart defects would have to travel to Birmingham for surgery.
Leicestershire hospital bosses said they remain "quietly confident", not least as Option A received the highest score of the four when marked by reviewers taking into account clinical quality, value for money, access and travel time for parents.
However, the NHS Safe and Sustainable review body has not said which it favours.
There will now be a four-month period of consultation before a final decision is made, probably in October.
Abi Tierney, director of strategy at Leicester's hospitals, said: "We will be fighting to make sure surgery stays at Glenfield and I am quietly confident we can do this."
Giles Peek, consultant paediatric heart surgeon and head of the East Midlands congenital heart service, said: "I am glad the review team has realised the strength of our services and that we are part of the best option and the one which out-scores all the others."
The three other plans are:
Option B, which will see seven centres – two in London, one in Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle and Southampton.
Options C and D, which were ranked lowest, propose six centres – two in London, one in Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, and another in either Newcastle or Leeds.
Graham Brown, of the Leicestershire charity Heart Link, which has raised �4 million for Glenfield, is calling campaigners to arms.
He said: "Parents and patients must speak out loud and clear to make sure that Option A becomes a reality. We know people in other areas will be fighting hard to keep services, but we are determined to keep children's heart surgery."
Public consultation begins on February 28 and a public meeting is due to be held at the Walkers Stadium on June 6.
Sir Neil McKay, chairman of the review's committee, said: "If people come up with proposals that look better during the consultation we will look at them carefully, otherwise what is the point of public consultation?"
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