Heart unit cuts child surgery

A hospital at the centre of a row about the streamlining of children's heart surgery units has been forced to restrict the number of children's cardiac operations.

The move comes after the health watchdog found that Bristol Royal Hospital for Children has inadequate staff levels to care for patients on a cardiac ward. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it had given the hospital a formal warning for not having appropriate staff numbers on a ward caring for babies and children with heart problems.

Earlier this year, the hospital was selected as one of seven specialist units to provide paediatric heart services across England and Wales.